# Edna (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/edna/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | Hebrew |
| Meaning | “pleasure”, “delight” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈɛdnə/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 296,158 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 1,042 / 295,116 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 135, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Hebrew עֶדְנָה (“pleasure; delight”); a variant of Eden in the Book of Tobit. In Ireland and Scotland it has been used as an anglicization of Eithne.

## What it means

Edna is grouped under joy.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 100 | 1,974 |
| 2012 | 95 | 2,035 |
| 2013 | 97 | 2,006 |
| 2014 | 92 | 2,103 |
| 2015 | 81 | 2,300 |
| 2016 | 84 | 2,275 |
| 2017 | 75 | 2,409 |
| 2018 | 122 | 1,695 |
| 2019 | 82 | 2,238 |
| 2020 | 88 | 2,085 |
| 2021 | 91 | 2,091 |
| 2022 | 90 | 2,125 |
| 2023 | 103 | 1,926 |
| 2024 | 95 | 2,044 |
| 2025 | 72 | 2,463 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1940 | 10 | 2,372 |
| 1941 | 13 | 2,021 |
| 1942 | 13 | 2,071 |
| 1943 | 19 | 1,656 |
| 1945 | 5 | 3,452 |
| 1947 | 10 | 2,542 |
| 1948 | 6 | 3,412 |
| 1949 | 15 | 1,966 |
| 1953 | 6 | 3,532 |
| 1955 | 9 | 2,826 |
| 1958 | 9 | 2,887 |
| 1961 | 7 | 3,448 |
| 1963 | 7 | 3,417 |
| 1965 | 5 | 4,058 |
| 1974 | 5 | 5,448 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 4 | 4,688 |
| 2011 | 3 | 5,785 |
| 2012 | 5 | 4,171 |
| 2013 | 9 | 2,649 |
| 2014 | 5 | 4,003 |
| 2015 | 5 | 4,103 |
| 2017 | 5 | 4,063 |
| 2018 | 11 | 2,340 |
| 2019 | 4 | 4,686 |
| 2020 | 8 | 2,843 |
| 2021 | 8 | 2,942 |
| 2022 | 14 | 1,948 |
| 2023 | 9 | 2,689 |
| 2024 | 8 | 3,015 |
| 2025 | 4 | 4,867 |

## In other languages

- Hebrew: עֶדְנָה
- Hindi: एडना
- Portuguese: Edna

## People named Edna

- Edna St. Vincent Millay, American poet (1892–1950)
- Edna Ferber, American novelist, short story writer and playwright (1885–1968)
- Edna Ruth Parker, American supercentenarian (1893–2008)
- Edna May Oliver, American actress (1883–1942)
- Edna Best, British actress (1900-1974)
- Edna Murphy, actress (1899-1974)
- Edna Hughes, British swimmer, Olympic bronze medallist (1916-1990)
- Edna Marion, American actress (1906-1957)
- Edna Wallace Hopper, American actress (1872–1959)
- Edna May, American actress and singer (1878-1948)
- Edna Campbell, American basketball player (born 1968)
- Edna Goodrich, American actress (1883–1971)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.