Edith
Edith was the 499th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 595 babies. Its best year was 1894, when it ranked 26th; the most babies were born in 1918 (7,858). Over the last ten years it has moved up 25 places. More babies were named Edith in the 1920s than in any other decade.
Meaning wealth + war · Old English
Say it EE-dith /ˈidɪθ/
- Rank in 2025
- #499 girls, down 27 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 595girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 19187,858 babies
- Total since 1880
- 271,705babies recorded
What does the name Edith mean?
Edith is an Old English name, Ēadgȳð, from ēad, "wealth, prosperity", and gȳð, "war, battle". DMNES lists a popular 10th-century English saint and an 11th-century queen, and notes it was one of the few Old English women's names to stay in common use after the Norman Conquest. The Random House dictionary gives the same elements. It was very popular in the US around 1900.
ēad (Old English, “wealth, prosperity”)gȳð (Old English, “war, battle”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Edie, Edyth, Editha.
See also: English names, names that mean warrior.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Edith', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources (ed. S. L. Uckelman), Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Edith', DMNES, Durham University
- Dictionary.com Unabridged (based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary), with Collins English Dictionary, s.v. 'Edith', Dictionary.com / Random House / HarperCollins
Nicknames for Edith
The usual nicknames for Edith are Edie. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 girls named Edith in the last five years, 19 were named Edie, against 11 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Edie | Traditional | #2,069 | 575 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Ediths go by each one.
Edith popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 825 since 1880.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #499 | 595 |
| 2020 | #472 | 650 |
| 2010 | #823 | 326 |
| 2000 | #565 | 462 |
| 1990 | #558 | 423 |
| 1980 | #550 | 339 |
| 1970 | #390 | 600 |
| 1960 | #243 | 1,282 |
| 1950 | #150 | 1,953 |
| 1940 | #98 | 2,510 |
| 1930 | #61 | 4,273 |
| 1920 | #32 | 7,773 |
| 1910 | #35 | 2,592 |
| 1900 | #36 | 2,068 |
| 1890 | #30 | 1,493 |
| 1880 | #28 | 768 |
How popular is Edith, counting every spelling?
Edith has no other common spelling that sounds the same. Counting every name's spellings together, it ranks #511 for girls in 2025, against #499 on the official list, because Jazlyn/Jazlynn/Jazzlyn and Kaylin/Kaylynn/Kailyn and Eileen/Aileen/Ayleen move ahead once their spellings are combined.
How many kids will share the name Edith?
595 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Edith (0.17 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Edith born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 14 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Edith.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Edith?
About 63,500 people born in the US named Edith are alive today, with a median age of 66; half are between 34 and 79. That makes Edith a name most people associate with older generations. The wide spread shows a name popular in two different eras.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Edith by state
How common Edith was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in North Dakota (4.5×), Maine (3.8×), Nebraska (2.7×), Minnesota (2.6×), Kansas (2.3×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Florida, New Jersey, West Virginia.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Edith: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Edith, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Edith · Sibling names for Edith
Questions about the name Edith
What does Edith mean?
Edith means “wealth + war” (Old English origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Edith?
Edith was the 499th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 595 babies. Its best year was 1894, when it ranked 26th; the most babies were born in 1918 (7,858). Over the last ten years it has moved up 25 places. More babies were named Edith in the 1920s than in any other decade.
Is Edith a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Edith in the US.
Where is Edith most popular?
In 2021–2025, Edith was most common in North Dakota (1.67 per 1,000 girls), followed by Maine and Vermont.