Edwin
Meaning
Old English, "rich friend"
Famously borne by Edwin Hubble, astronomer whose observations proved the universe is expanding.
The story
Edwin comes from the Old English Eadwine, joining ead, wealth or good fortune, with wine, friend, so it reads as prosperous friend or friend of fortune. It is genuinely ancient. King Edwin of Northumbria ruled much of northern England in the 600s and was remembered as the first of his line to accept Christianity, a figure large enough that the church later counted him a saint. The name survived the Norman conquest that erased most Anglo-Saxon names, resurfaced strongly in the Victorian age, and has stayed in use ever since. It found particular warmth among Latino families in the United States, and reads as common now as at almost any point in its long life. Few names this old still sound this easy. Edwin carries more than a thousand years of English history in two plain, friendly syllables.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Edwin peaked in the 2000s.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
1,729 people · the #5,666 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 111,111 · median age 34
Among people named Edwin living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1980s than in any other decade.
The census also counted 30 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
The Edwin deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Edwin 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 Edwin fits with your family’s names and surname.
Where Edwin travels
Chinese American · A steady English classic in Chinese American families, with a small modern uptick.
Keep exploring
Names like Edwin · Chinese American baby names · Names of geniuses and inventors
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