Aethelred

See also: Æthelred

English

Alternative forms

• Ethelred, Æthelred, Athelred

Etymology

Learned borrowing from Old English Æþelræd, Æðelred, from æþele (“noble”) +‎ rǣd (“counsel, advice”).

Pronunciation

• enPR: ăth′əl-rĕd′, IPA^(key): /ˈæθ.əlˌɹɛd/

Proper noun

Aethelred

1. A male given name from Old English Æþelræd (“noble counsel, well-advised”), variant of Ethelred or Æthelred.
   1. A male given name of historical usage, notably borne by Aethelred I, King of Wessex between 865 and his death in 871.
   2. A male given name of historical usage, notably borne by Aethelred II “the Unready”, King of the English between 978 and his death in 1016.

Further reading

• “Aethelred”, in OneLook Dictionary Search.
• “Ethelred II”, in The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language, 5th edition, Boston, Mass.: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2016, →ISBN.
• “Ethelred”, in Lexico, Dictionary.com; Oxford University Press, 2019–2022.
• “Aethelred”, in Collins English Dictionary.
• “Aethelred”, in Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, Springfield, Mass.: Merriam-Webster, 1996–present.
• Douglas Harper (2001–2025) “Ethelred”, in Online Etymology Dictionary.