# Edward (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/edward/  
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 | boys |
| Origin | not recorded |
| Meaning | “wealth”, “riches”, “ward”, “guard” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈɛdwɚd/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | Ned, Neddy |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 1,308,955 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 1,303,594 / 5,361 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 54,597, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Middle English Edward, from Old English Ēadweard, from Proto-West Germanic *Audawardu, from Proto-Germanic *Audawarduz, corresponding to ed (“wealth, riches”) + ward (“ward, guard”), doublet of Eduard.

## What it means

Edward is grouped under rich.

## 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | 19 | 5,042 |
| 1992 | 18 | 5,335 |
| 1993 | 18 | 5,273 |
| 1994 | 18 | 5,307 |
| 1995 | 9 | 8,980 |
| 1996 | 10 | 8,339 |
| 1997 | 5 | 14,400 |
| 1998 | 8 | 10,394 |
| 2000 | 11 | 8,744 |
| 2001 | 8 | 11,319 |
| 2002 | 6 | 14,106 |
| 2003 | 5 | 16,499 |
| 2004 | 10 | 10,128 |
| 2007 | 7 | 14,336 |
| 2014 | 5 | 17,290 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 2,671 | 148 |
| 2012 | 2,597 | 157 |
| 2013 | 2,711 | 145 |
| 2014 | 2,591 | 162 |
| 2015 | 2,602 | 158 |
| 2016 | 2,518 | 162 |
| 2017 | 2,328 | 170 |
| 2018 | 2,286 | 170 |
| 2019 | 2,054 | 192 |
| 2020 | 1,952 | 195 |
| 2021 | 1,749 | 218 |
| 2022 | 1,752 | 216 |
| 2023 | 1,737 | 213 |
| 2024 | 1,589 | 228 |
| 2025 | 1,591 | 224 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 1,935 | 40 |
| 2012 | 2,088 | 36 |
| 2013 | 2,273 | 33 |
| 2014 | 2,417 | 31 |
| 2015 | 2,593 | 26 |
| 2016 | 2,429 | 23 |
| 2017 | 2,461 | 23 |
| 2018 | 2,197 | 24 |
| 2019 | 2,125 | 24 |
| 2020 | 1,751 | 29 |
| 2021 | 1,806 | 29 |
| 2022 | 1,612 | 31 |
| 2023 | 1,501 | 30 |
| 2024 | 1,461 | 31 |
| 2025 | 1,385 | 31 |

## In other languages

- Arabic: إِدْوَارْد
- Armenian: Էդվարդ
- Catalan: Eduard
- Chinese: 愛德華 /爱德华
- Czech: Edvard, Eduard
- Danish: Edvard
- Dutch: Eduard, Edward
- Esperanto: Eduardo
- Estonian: Eduard
- Finnish: Edvard, Eetu
- French: Édouard
- Georgian: ედუარდი, ედვარდი
- German: Eduard
- Greek: Εδουάρδος, Έντουαρντ
- Hebrew: אדוארד
- Hindi: एडवर्ड, इदवार्द
- Hungarian: Edvárd
- Icelandic: Eðvarð, Játvarður
- Irish: Éadbhard
- Italian: Edoardo, Eduardo

## People named Edward

- Edward Snowden, American whistleblower and former NSA contractor (born 1983)
- Edward Jenner, English physician, scientist and pioneer of vaccination (1749–1823)
- Edward Gibbon, English historian and politician (1737–1794)
- Edward Norton, American actor
- Edward Victor Appleton, English physicist (1892–1965)
- Edward Mills Purcell, American physicist (1912-1997)
- Edward Elgar, English composer (1857-1934)
- Edward Bulwer-Lytton, British statesman and author (1803–1873)
- Edward O. Wilson, American biologist, naturalist, and writer (1929–2021)
- Edward Sapir, American linguist and anthropologist (1884-1939)
- Edward the Confessor, Anglo-Saxon King of England from 1042 to 1066
- John Edward Gray, British zoologist (1800–1875)

## 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.