Aubrey

AWB-ree
English from French
"elf ruler"

Aubrey Origin and Meaning

The name Aubrey is a boy's name of English origin meaning "elf ruler".

Once a popular choice in for boys in the Middle Ages and again during the 19th century, Aubrey has mostly been used for girls in the US since the 1970's. With its arty, surname-y, and sophisticated feel, however, it is rising up the UK charts for both boys and girls.

Derived from the Auberi, an Old French variant of Alberich, Aubrey means "elf ruler". Up until the 50's, it was relatively well known for boys in the US, but with the release of the song "Aubrey" by Bread in 1972, the scales tipped.

Despite this, there are still memorable male bearers of the name, including rapper Drake, whose full name is Aubrey Drake Graham; the 19th century illustrator Aubrey Beardsley; and the central character of John Polidori's novel The Vampyre.

Used on only a tiny handful of boys each year in the US, in the UK, Aubrey is currently in the Top 250 for girls, but also the Top 600 for boys. This means it is given to boys 5 times more often in the UK, than it is the US.

Gentle, cool and handsome, Aubrey fits in with the recent interest in softer boys names and in surnames-as-given-names. Plus, with Ellis, Mckenzie, Hadley, Casey, and Oakley in use, Aubrey might see further gains.

# 937 in the US

Aubrey Rank in US Top 1000

# 705 on Nameberry

Aubrey Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Aubrey Popularity

Famous People Named Aubrey

  • Aubrey Vincent Beardsley
    English illustrator
  • (Aubrey) Drake Graham aka Drake
    Canadian rapper and actor
  • Aubrey David Nicholas Jasper de Grey
    English author and gerontologist
  • Aubrey Woods
    English actor
  • Aubrey Wray Fitch
    American WWII admiral
  • Aubrey Lewis Huff
    American baseball player
  • Aubrey Haynie
    American bluegrass musician
  • Aubrey Strahan
    British geologist
  • Aubrey Morris
    English actor
  • Aubrey Joseph
    American actor
  • Aubrey de Vere
    2nd Baronet, Irish poet
  • Aubrey McClendon
    Chesapeake CEO
  • Aubrey Lafell Dawkins
    American basketball player
  • Aubrey Stevens (b. 2012)
    son of actor Dan Stevens and jazz singer Susie Hariet
  • Aubrey Jacob Lemkus (b. 2017)
    son of vegan lifestyle youtubers Sarah and Dan Lemkus

Aubrey in Pop Culture

  • Aubrey Greene
    artist in "The White Monkey" (1924) by John Galsworthy
  • John "Jack" Aubrey
    main character in the Aubrey–Maturin series by Patrick O'Brian
  • James Aubrey
    character on TV series "Bones"
  • "Aubrey" is a song written and composed by David Gates
    and originally recorded by the soft rock group Bread