Aubrey

Aubrey comes from the Norman French Auberi, a form of the Germanic Alberich, composed of alb, meaning elf, and ric, meaning ruler or power. In Germanic legend Alberich is the dwarf who guards the treasure of the Nibelungs, a role he later plays in Wagner’s Ring cycle. The Normans brought the name to England, where it became both a given name and a surname, as with the aristocratic de Vere family. Male bearers include the antiquarian John Aubrey, author of Brief Lives, and the illustrator Aubrey Beardsley. In the United States the name has more recently been given mostly to girls.