Given name & surname
Audry
“noble”·“strength”
Audry 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
Audry 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
Audry 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
Audry 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 1893. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Audry 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
Audry through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 4,525
- 496 boys · 4,029 girls
- Most popular year
- 1928
- 105 babies
- 2025
- 0
- Outside the ranked list
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −49%
- Cooling
Boys, girls and both
The balance of boys and girls given this name has shifted over time. Recent births are 0% boys.
By the numbers
The most recent published U.S. birth count for girls is 10 in 2024. Later missing counts do not mean the name went unused. Its largest published annual count for girls was 88 in 1928. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 3,179 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 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Similar names
If you love Audry, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Audre
“noble” · “strength”
>99% girls
Audene
“noble” · “strength”
>99% girls
Audray
“noble” · “strength”
>99% girls
Adele
“of the nobility; serene; of good humor”
>99% girls
Auda
“noble” · “strength”
>99% girls
Blanch
“a shining, fair-skinned woman”
>99% girls
Alyce
“noble” · “kind”
>99% girls
Geraldine
“one who rules with the spear”
>99% girls