Given name
Audre
“noble”·“strength”
Audre 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
Audre 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
Audre 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
Audre 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 1911. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Audre 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
Audre through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 910
- 40 boys · 870 girls
- Most popular year
- 1927
- 25 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −32%
- Easing
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for girls is 5 in 2024. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for girls was 25 in 1927. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 692 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.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 1
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
People named Audre
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Audre, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Audene
“noble” · “strength”
>99% girls
Audray
“noble” · “strength”
>99% girls
Auda
“noble” · “strength”
>99% girls
Audrée
“noble” · “strength”
>99% girls
Audree
“noble” · “strength”
>99% girls
Autree
“of noble strength”
—
Sandie
“helper and defender of mankind” · “refers to Saint James”
>99% girls
Audriz
“noble” · “strength”
—