Aubrey
Masculine · “elf ruler”
Aubrey is given to both — 31,090 boys and 133,515 girls since 1880. See Aubrey as a girl nameSee other names given to both
Aubrey is an elf king. The Germanic Alberich was the ruler of the elves in Frankish legend, and the same figure turns up in the Nibelungenlied and, much later, as Oberon.
How old is the name Aubrey?
Aubrey was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Aubrey alive today was born around 1948, making them about 77 years old. About 16,000 people named Aubrey are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Aubrey most popular?
Aubrey peaked in 1912, reaching #224 nationally. Today it ranks #2091, 1,867 places below that high. See the whole 1912 chart.
Where it comes from
From Alberich to Aubrey
The story of Aubrey
Alberich is the dwarf-king of the Nibelung treasure in German legend and the elf-king of Frankish story. French made Auberi and Aubrey, and the Normans brought it to England, where it was common in the Middle Ages. It thinned out, returned in the nineteenth century, and — after two centuries as a man's name — moved decisively to girls in America in the 2000s. Masculine use peaked around 1880.
Meaning
elf ruler
From the Germanic alf, 'elf', and ric, 'ruler' or 'power', through Alberich. The elves of Germanic legend were powerful and ambiguous beings, not small decorative ones. French turned Alberich into Auberi and then Aubrey, and the same figure gave Shakespeare's Oberon his name.
How the name formed
- Alberich
- Auberi
- Aubrey
Related forms: Alberich · Aubri · Oberon
Pronouncing Aubrey
AW-bree
Two syllables, stress on the first. Said identically whichever sex carries it.
Nicknames for Aubrey
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 1921480 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #224reached in 1912
- Change vs 2022
- −48.1%70 in 2025, from 135
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Aubrey in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Alberich in German — related form
- Aubri in French — spelling variant
- Oberon in English — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, Georgia, Virginia.
Aubreys among us
people named Aubrey are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 24,401 born in 2025 was named Aubrey
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Aubrey sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Aubrey is headed
Aubrey is easing off slowly — about 17% fewer babies a year by 2030 if the trend continues.
Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Aubrey beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Aubrey in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The elf-ruler meaning is vivid and connects to a major body of Germanic legend.
- The link to Shakespeare's Oberon is genuine and easy to tell.
- It has a documented eight-hundred-year masculine record in England.
- In America the name now reads as feminine to nearly everyone.
- It is strongly period-coded to the nineteenth century in its masculine use.
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What they receive
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Aubrey
Masculine · #2091 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Aubreys are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 16,000 people named Aubrey are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Aubrey in 2025?
- Aubrey ranks #2091 among US boy names in 2025, with 70 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Aubrey?
- About 1 in every 24,401 US boys born in 2025 was named Aubrey — 70 in all.
- Will my child share the name Aubrey with classmates?
- Aubrey will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Aubrey
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Ziaire#2091 · Knoxx#2091 · Omer#2091 · Emile#2091 · Crawford#2091 · Ahron#2091 · Brenton#2091 · Mykel#2091
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Aubrey? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Aubrey and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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