Fun Facts About the Name Auda
- 239 babies named Auda: U.S. records list 239 babies given the name Auda from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Auda Mean?
Auda has two independent origins and therefore two meanings. In Arabic it stands for ʿAwdah (عودة), "return," built on the root ʿ-w-d and the verb ʿāda, "to return." Arabic script does not write short vowels, so the name reaches European languages in several spellings, including Auda, Awda, and Odeh. The literal sense is simply "return"; readers sometimes take it as a return to a homeland or to God, but that is a customary interpretation added to the word, not part of its etymology.
The second origin is northern European. Auda belongs to the old Germanic stock of names formed on the root *audaz, "wealth, riches, prosperity." That root survives in Old Norse auðr and Old English ēad, so names such as Auður, Aud, Edgar, and Edith all draw on the same word. Auda is a short feminine name standing on the root itself rather than a nickname carved out of a longer compound, and its meaning is the root's meaning: wealth or prosperity.
Auda Name History & Origins
The Arabic name is the better documented of the two. ʿAwdah is used chiefly as a male given name in the Arabian Peninsula and the Fertile Crescent; one widely known bearer was Auda abu Tayi (ʿAwdah abū Ṭāyī), a chief of the Howeitat tribe in the Arab Revolt of 1916 - 18. In North Africa and in European spelling the name commonly appears as Auda or Odeh. The European forms Auda and Aud are feminine, so the same letters can sit on either side of a language boundary with different gender associations.
In the Nordic countries the name comes from Old Norse auðr, "wealth." It was used both as a short name in its own right and as the first element of compounds such as Auðun and Auðbjǫrg. The short feminine form Auðr is recorded in medieval Icelandic sources, most famously for Auðr djúpúðga, "Aud the Deep-minded," a settler described in Landnámabók. Norwegian and Danish Aud and Icelandic Auður descend from it, and Auda is a variant of the same short name. Icelandic keeps the letter ð that English spellings drop.
Auda also turns up in Latin-language records of medieval Europe, where women's names were regularly given the ending -a. Latin spelling flattens the differences between Germanic names, so an Auda in such a document may represent a Norse name in Auð- or an English name in Ēad-, and the two cannot always be told apart. The French name Aude looks similar and has sometimes been treated as the same name, but it is generally handled as a separate name with its own history, and a shared origin with Auda has not been established.
How Popular is the Name Auda?
Auda has historically been an exceptionally rare given name in the United States, remaining well outside the national mainstream. It saw its highest recorded annual births in 1916. Its best rank was #1,162 in 1887.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1943 | #4,232 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1933 | #4,266 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1932 | #4,469 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1931 | #2,995 | 9 | 0.0008% |
| 1928 | #4,233 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1927 | #4,339 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1925 | #3,692 | 8 | 0.0007% |
| 1924 | #3,681 | 8 | 0.0006% |
| 1922 | #3,172 | 10 | 0.0008% |
| 1921 | #2,783 | 12 | 0.0010% |
| 1920 | #2,604 | 13 | 0.0011% |
| 1919 | #2,655 | 12 | 0.0011% |
| 1918 | #2,692 | 12 | 0.0010% |
| 1917 | #3,750 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1916 | #2,140 | 15 | 0.0014% |
| 1915 | #2,549 | 11 | 0.0011% |
| 1914 | #2,656 | 8 | 0.0011% |
| 1913 | #1,896 | 11 | 0.0018% |
| 1912 | #2,660 | 6 | 0.0011% |
| 1910 | #1,951 | 7 | 0.0018% |
| 1907 | #1,305 | 10 | 0.0031% |
| 1906 | #1,568 | 7 | 0.0024% |
| 1905 | #1,958 | 5 | 0.0017% |
| 1904 | #1,914 | 5 | 0.0018% |
| 1900 | #1,959 | 5 | 0.0017% |
| 1898 | #1,725 | 5 | 0.0019% |
| 1896 | #1,605 | 5 | 0.0021% |
| 1895 | #1,616 | 5 | 0.0021% |
| 1889 | #1,299 | 5 | 0.0028% |
| 1888 | #1,295 | 5 | 0.0028% |
| 1887 | #1,162 | 5 | 0.0034% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Auda Shapes Your Personality and Life?
Powerful and complete. You are good intellectually and require several outlets for your energies. You are not a builder but a planner, and you want others to carry out your plans. You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.
You desire to inspire and lead, to control other's affairs. You are giving, courageous and bold, action oriented,energetic and strong willed. You want to make a difference in the world, and this attitude often attracts you to cultural interests, politics, social issues, and the cultivation of your creative talents.
✦ Auda's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Auda's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.