Edward

Where Edward comes from

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.
— Wiktionary's entry for Edward
  • Old English
  • 2 syllables
Along the way
  1. 1749
    Edward Jenner born
    English physician, scientist and pioneer of vaccination
  2. 1880
    First SSA year
    Already #11 among boys — 2,364 babies in the first year on record.
  3. 1921
    Peak, #8
    20,817 babies named Edward — more than any year before or since.
  4. 1972
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #34.
  5. 1983
    Edward Snowden born
    American whistleblower and former NSA contractor
In the dictionary
  • A male given name from Old English.
Namesakes
  • Edward Snowden · American whistleblower and former NSA contractor, born 1983
  • Edward Jenner · English physician, scientist and pioneer of vaccination, 1749–1823
  • Edward VIII · King of the United Kingdom in 1936, 1894–1972
  • Edward VII · King of the United Kingdom from 1901 to 1910, 1841–1910
  • Edward Gibbon · English historian and politician, 1737–1794

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.