Given name
Audray
“noble”·“strength”
Audray is a variant of Audrey. The Old English elements mean “noble” and “strength.” The later connection with tawdry concerns the name’s cultural history, not its original meaning.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Audray is a variant of Audrey. The Old English elements mean “noble” and “strength.” The later connection with tawdry concerns the name’s cultural history, not its original meaning.
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Audray is a variant of Audrey. Audrey is an English development of the Old English feminine name Æðelþryð, also known in Latinized form as Etheldreda.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
Audray is a variant of Audrey. The shared background comes through Audrey: Audrey shortens Æðelþryð, built from æðel, “noble,” and þryð, “strength.” A separate word-history developed when Saint Audrey was divided differently in speech, producing tawdry for goods associated with fairs held in her name.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1918. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Audray is a variant of Audrey. The history of Audrey gives this family its wider story. Saint Audrey, or Etheldreda, was widely venerated in the Middle Ages. Lace and other fairground goods associated with her name contributed to the word tawdry, an association that later affected the name’s reputation. Shakespeare used Audrey for Touchstone’s sweetheart in As You Like It.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Audray through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 79
- 0 boys · 79 girls
- Most popular year
- 1924
- 9 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for girls is 5 in 1961. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for girls was 9 in 1924. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 173 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Similar names
If you love Audray, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Audene
“noble” · “strength”
>99% girls
Audre
“noble” · “strength”
>99% girls
Auda
“noble” · “strength”
>99% girls
Audriz
“noble” · “strength”
—
Audrée
“noble” · “strength”
>99% girls
Audrys
“noble” · “strength”
>99% girls
Audfis
“noble” · “strength”
—
Autree
“of noble strength”
—