Audrey () is an English feminine given name. It is the Anglo-Norman form of the Anglo-Saxon name Æðelþryð, composed of the elements æðel "noble" and þryð "strength". The Anglo-Norman form of the name was applied to Saint Audrey (d. 679), also known by the historical form of her name as Saint Æthelthryth. The same name also survived into the modern period in its Anglo-Saxon form, as Etheldred, e.g. Etheldred Benett (1776–1845). In the 17th century, the name of Saint Audrey gave rise to the adjective tawdry "cheap and pretentious; cheaply adorned". The lace necklaces sold to pilgrims to Saint Audrey fell out of fashion in the 17th century, and so tawdry was reinterpreted as meaning cheap or vulgar. As a consequence, use of the name declined, but it was revived in the 19th century. Popularity of the name in the United States peaked in the interbellum period, but it fell below rank 100 in popularity by 1940 and was not frequently given in the later half of the 20th century; Audrey was the 173rd most common name for females in the United States in the 1990 census. Its popularity has again been on the rise since the 2000s, reaching rank 100 in 2002 and rank 41 in 2012. It was also ranked in the top 100 most common names for girls in France, Belgium, and Canada in the 2000s. People Audrey Marie Anderson (born 1975), American actress and model Audrey Assad (born 1983), American contemporary Christian musician Audrey Amiss (born 1933), British artist Audrey Azoulay (born 1972), French civil servant and politician Audrey Barcio (born 1978), American visual artist Audrey Brown (1913–2005), British athlete Audrey Cameron, polymer chemist working at the University of Edinburgh Audrey Chapman (1899–1993), American actress Audrey De Montigny (born 1985), French-Canadian singer Audrey Donnithorne (1922–2020), British missionary and political economist Audrey Dufeu-Schubert (born 1980), French politician Audrey Dwyer, Canadian actor and playwright Audrey Emery (1904–1971), American socialite and wife of Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich of Russia Audrey Fagan, Australian police officer Audrey Flack (born 1931), American artist Audrey Fleurot (born 1977), French actress Audrey Girouard, Canadian computer scientist and professor Audrey Gordon, Canadian politician Audrey Hepburn (1929–1993), Belgian-born British actress and fashion model Audrey Marie Hilley (1933-1987), American murderer Audrey Hochberg (1933–2005), New York politician Audrey Evelyn Jones (1929–2014), British teacher and women's rights campaigner Audrey Kitching (born 1985), American model, fashion designer, and fashion blogger