Aubrey

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A feminine given name of Norman origin, traditionally associated with nobility and used in English-speaking cultures
2. A female personal name derived from the Old German elements meaning elf and rule, popular in Britain and America
3. A woman's name of historical use, particularly common among the English and French nobility from medieval times onward

Etymology: "Aubrey" is a given name, and its history runs from a Germanic word for "elf" and "king" to a surname that spread across medieval England and France. Its oldest form is Old High German "Alberich," built from the Proto-Germanic elements "albiz," meaning elf or fairy, and "rīks," meaning king or ruler. An "elf-ruler" is an evocative name for a figure of early medieval Germanic tradition, and the same name is found in German as "Alberich" and in Italian as "Alberico." The name passed into Latin as "Alberīcus," and from there into Norman French as "Auberi" or "Alberi." Middle English then adopted it as "Aubrey" and "Aubry." Some scholars also suggest that a Gaulish name, "Albiorīx," meaning "ruler of the world," may have influenced its shape, so the name may have drawn on two separate ancient traditions at once.