Name of the Day: Audrey
Audrey is such an accessible name that its hard to believe it started life as the far less approachable Old English name, Æðelþryð or Æthelthryth. While researching why there are two spellings given I learned that both ð and þ represent the digraph 'th' and more precisely, the voiced dental fricative version as in 'this' as opposed to the voiceless dental fricative as in 'thing'. I don't see the digraph 'th' listed in the Old English alphabet so I suspect Æthelthryth is a modern transliteration to make it readable to us today. I'm sure someone knows for sure.
Back to the name. Its meaning is 'noble strength'; 'œthel' meaning 'noble' and 'thryth' meaning, of course, 'strength' (or feel free to substitute the Old English spelling of each).
The most famous Æthelthryth was the 7th century Anglo-Saxon princess-cum-saint of the same name. By the 12th century, following the Norman invasion of 1066, the Old English names and indeed the entire language, all but vanished. Æthelthryth became Etheldreda and was then further reduced to Audrey.
St. Audrey's end came in the form of an enormous tumor on her neck, which she took to be retribution for her sin of having once adorned herself with necklaces. During the Middle Ages the city of Ely, England held a "St. Audrey's Fair" on her feast day. At this fair one could purchase neckerchiefs (to represent her affliction) and other items, fantastically described at www.catholic.org as being of "exceptional shoddiness". This eventually led to the formation of the word "tawdry" as a contraction of St. Audrey.
Audrey is currently ranked 68th in the US having made a steady climb from a position in the 200s during the 1970s. I predict a continued steady climb into the top 30.
Back to the name. Its meaning is 'noble strength'; 'œthel' meaning 'noble' and 'thryth' meaning, of course, 'strength' (or feel free to substitute the Old English spelling of each).
The most famous Æthelthryth was the 7th century Anglo-Saxon princess-cum-saint of the same name. By the 12th century, following the Norman invasion of 1066, the Old English names and indeed the entire language, all but vanished. Æthelthryth became Etheldreda and was then further reduced to Audrey.
St. Audrey's end came in the form of an enormous tumor on her neck, which she took to be retribution for her sin of having once adorned herself with necklaces. During the Middle Ages the city of Ely, England held a "St. Audrey's Fair" on her feast day. At this fair one could purchase neckerchiefs (to represent her affliction) and other items, fantastically described at www.catholic.org as being of "exceptional shoddiness". This eventually led to the formation of the word "tawdry" as a contraction of St. Audrey.
Audrey is currently ranked 68th in the US having made a steady climb from a position in the 200s during the 1970s. I predict a continued steady climb into the top 30.
4 comments:
I'm way too lazy to reproduce all your interesting orthography, but I'm wondering, then, if the name Ethel came out of this stream as well.
Absolutely. Same origin.
You are such a name nerd. That said, is there anything in the name origin which suggests it means "emotionally unavailable", or something along that line?
Fascinating.
I only picked it for my girl 'cause of Audrey Hepburn. And gosh-o-gee I thought it sounded right pirty.
Thankyou... I'm looking forward to Andrew, Lesley, and Paul in coming posts!
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