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Edward

boy name
Origin
Germanic
Syllables
2
Peak era
1890s/1900s
Today
▬ Steady

Torn between Edward and another name? Compare them side by side →

Meaning

wealthy guardian

Goes by Ed, Eddie, Ned, Ted. See all nicknames

Immortalized by Edward Cullen in Twilight (2008).

The story

Edward is one of the very few Old English names to sail through the Norman Conquest unscathed. Built from the Anglo-Saxon words for fortune and guardian, it was worn by kings before 1066, above all Edward the Confessor, and the Normans kept it alive out of reverence for him, which is why England eventually counted eight King Edwards while most old Saxon names vanished. America received it as pure establishment: Edward was one of the standard boys' names of the early twentieth century, the era of Edward VII and Edwardian collars. The slide since has been gentle rather than steep, and the name has never fallen out of steady use; it simply passes from grandfathers to grandsons, trailing its nicknames Ed, Eddie, Ted, and Ned behind it. Solid, royal, endlessly renewable: Edward is what a classic looks like from the inside.

More names with stories →

Edward across languages

One shared root links 7 names across 3 languages.

Shared root: Old English Eadweard, built from ead, meaning wealth or fortune, and weard, meaning guard; one of the few Anglo-Saxon names to survive the Conquest in royal favor

The constellation

EdwardEnglishEduardoSpanish · Portuguese

More branches

EdEnglish · short formEddieEnglish · diminutiveEddyEnglish · variantNedEnglish · diminutiveEduardaPortuguese · feminine form

Ways to honor Edward →

How popular is Edward around the world?

In the United States, 10,370 babies were named Edward between 2020 and 2025. In South Australia, 54 boys were registered as Edward in 2017.

Edward is on the official records of the United States, South Australia, England and Wales, New Zealand, Norway, New South Wales, Ireland, Poland, Scotland, Canada, Chile, Mexico City, France, Montevideo, Austria, Argentina, Spain and Brazil.

Edward crosses languages: it is in the latest top 300 of an English-speaking birth record and of a Spanish-speaking one. The full list: English and Spanish

United States

1 in 2,100

In the United States, 10,370 babies were named Edward between 2020 and 2025.

peak 1890s2020s

Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Edward peaked in the 1890s and the 1900s in nearly equal measure. Edward went to 2,602 US babies in 2015 and 1,591 in 2025, 61% of the earlier figure.

Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration

See the full list for the United States →

South Australia

1 in 340 · 2017

In South Australia, 54 boys were registered as Edward in 2017.

1944peak 2017

share of that year’s name registrations

Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names

See the full list for South Australia →

England and Wales

1 in 420

In England and Wales, 1,385 boys named Edward were born in 2025, the 31st most common name among boys that year.

1996peak 20152025

share of that year’s name registrations

Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales

See the full list for England and Wales →

New Zealand

1 in 1,100

In New Zealand, 52 boys named Edward were registered in 2025.

peak 19022025

share of that year’s name registrations

First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time

See the full list for New Zealand →

Norway

1 in 1,200 · register 2026

In Norway, 24 boys were given the name Edward in 2025.

1945peak 2013

share of the boys on the register for that year, SSB’s own figure

People who have or have had a Norwegian ID number, emigrants left out, from Statistics Norway’s name statistics (release of January 2026): by year of birth for 1945–2020 (everyone born that year who was ever registered in Norway, including people who registered later and people who have since died) and by year of naming from 2021; only first names carried by 200 or more living people are listed, counts under 4 are withheld, and SSB merges spellings that differ only by letters outside the Norwegian alphabet. The shares are SSB’s own, of the people of that sex and year in that count; the 2025 figure counts the children named that year, and no year is a count of births. Source: Statistics Norway (SSB), table 10467 (updated 2026-01-28)

See the full list for Norway →

New South Wales

#75 · 2025

In New South Wales, 110 boys named Edward were registered in 2025, ranked 75th in that year’s top 100 for boys.

1952peak 2020

share of that year’s top-100 registrations

New South Wales (not all of Australia) publishes only each year’s 100 most popular names per sex, so a missing year means below that top 100, not rare. Source: NSW Registry of Births, Deaths and Marriages, popular baby names

See the full list for New South Wales →

Ireland

1 in 1,300

In Ireland, 43 boys named Edward were born in 2025, the 125th most common name among boys that year.

peak 19662025

share of that year’s name registrations

Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names

See the full list for Ireland →

Poland

1 in 1,500

In Poland, 168 boys named Edward were born in 2025, the 102nd most common name among boys that year.

2000peak 2025

share of that year’s name registrations

First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)

See the full list for Poland →

Scotland

1 in 1,900

In Scotland, 24 boys named Edward were registered in 2024, the 181st most common name among boys that year.

peak 19742024

share of that year’s name registrations

Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names

See the full list for Scotland →

Canada

1 in 2,100

In Canada, 171 boys named Edward were born in 2024, the 200th most common name among boys that year.

1991peak 2019

share of that year’s name registrations

First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)

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Chile

1 in 5,100

In Chile, 35 boys were registered as Edward in 2021, every accent spelling counted together.

1920peak 2012

share of that year’s name registrations

First-name registrations with Chile’s civil registry by year of registration, 1920–2021, counted as spelling groups (Sofía, Sofia and Sofìa are one name, shown with its most-registered spelling); the registry withholds nothing, nametree keeps the groups that reached 5 registrations in some year, and shares divide by every registration of the year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil e Identificación (Chile) via the guaguas package, first-name registrations 1920-2021

See the full list for Chile →

Mexico City City

1 in 9,800

In Mexico City, there were 12 registrations of Edward in 2022.

2000peak 20102022

share of that year’s registrations in the city

Civil-registry acts in Mexico City by registration year. Counts are lower bounds (names under 6 in a month and borough are removed at source) and count name-instances, not people; compound names are split, so “Maria Jose” counts under each part. 2023, a partial extract through 3 Mar with no cell on record for this name, is excluded. Source: Registro Civil of Mexico City, open data portal, registered given names 2000-2023

See the full list for Mexico City →

France

1 in 11,000

In France, about 60 boys named Edward were born in 2025, the 692nd most common name among boys that year.

1900peak 2024

share of that year’s births on record

Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)

See the full list for France →

Montevideo City

1 in 12,000 · 2011

In Montevideo, 2 boys named Edward were born in 2011, spelling variants counted together.

1940peak 19722011

share of that year’s births on record

Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial

See the full list for Montevideo →

Austria

1 in 25,000

In Austria, 3 boys named Edward were born in 2025, the 981st most common name among boys that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
The count never rose above 9 in a year, too few to chart.

Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)

See the full list for Austria →

Argentina

1 in 37,000

In Argentina, 18 newborns were given the name Edward in 2024.

2012peak 20182024

share of that year’s name registrations

Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024

See the full list for Argentina →

Spain

1 in 49,000

In Spain, 919 residents are named Edward, ranked 1,464th among men, with a mean age of 40.4 years.

Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025

See the full list for Spain →

Brazil

1 in 67,000

At the 2022 census, 3,103 people in Brazil were named Edward, ranked 3,797th, with a median age of 28.
Among people named Edward living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2010s than in any other decade.

1930speak 2010s

people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth

The census also counted 351 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022

See the full list for Brazil →

Puerto Rico

last on record 2024

Edward is not on the 2025 record for Puerto Rico, which withholds births under 5, and 704 babies have carried the name there since 1998.

peak 20012025

share of that year’s births on record

First given name only, from Social Security records of births in Puerto Rico; any name-sex-year under 5 births is withheld at source. Shares divide by the Puerto Rico Demographic Registry’s count of births on the island; the 2025 count is provisional. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, territory name file (Puerto Rico)

See the full list for Puerto Rico →

All records: the most popular baby names around the world →

When you meet Edward

People given the name Edward in the United States span the generations: the middle half were born anywhere from 1950 to 1989. Age is the one thing the name won't tell you.

Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.

Names that fit alongside Edward

William Henry Charles Hugh Alfonso Frederic

Keep exploring

Names like Edward · Nicknames for Edward · Chinese American baby names · Saint names for babies and confirmation · Names of kings and queens · Climbers and fallers

Name trails: explore connections from Edward →

The Edward deep dive

Written for you · $1.99 →

Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Edward truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Edward fits with your family’s names and surname.

Both reports, explained →

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