girls' name ★ peaked 1918

Edna

Meaning pleasure; delight Gender Girl Rank 2025 #2,463 Trend → Stable

From Hebrew עֶדְנָה (“pleasure; delight”); a variant of Eden in the Book of Tobit.

Rank 2025
#2,463
among girls · ↓419 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
72
named Edna · -24% vs 2024
How common
1 in 22,323
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1918
8,730 babies
All-time total
296,158
#131 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Edna popularity over time

296,158 babies have been named Edna since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
3.757.511.251518801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s 11,020 46 11,066 1,107 – #18
1890s 24,068 76 24,144 2,414 +118% #11
1900s 29,832 125 29,957 2,996 +24% #12
1910s 66,897 209 67,106 6,711 +124% #16
1920s 68,629 248 68,877 6,888 +3% #27
1930s 36,973 199 37,172 3,717 -46% #50
1940s 24,699 91 24,790 2,479 -33% #86
1950s 15,418 24 15,442 1,544 -38% #157
1960s 7,698 19 7,717 772 -50% #271
1970s 3,411 5 3,416 342 -56% #459
1980s 2,164 – 2,164 216 -37% #643
1990s 1,576 – 1,576 158 -27% #912
2000s 1,262 – 1,262 126 -20% #1,296
2010s 930 – 930 93 -26% #1,695
2020s (to 2025) 539 – 539 90 -3% #1,926

Where Edna is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 71 0.04 outside top 500
2027 69 0.04 outside top 500
2028 69 0.04 outside top 500
2029 68 0.04 outside top 500
2030 67 0.04 outside top 500

Where Edna is most popular

Girls named Edna per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.056 per 1,000. Strongest in Ohio, Kentucky, and Iowa.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Edna born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Ohio 43 0.181 +226%
Kentucky 10 0.117 +110%
Iowa 6 0.103 +85%
Missouri 12 0.100 +79%
Minnesota 10 0.093 +67%
Pennsylvania 21 0.089 +60%
Wisconsin 8 0.078 +40%
Michigan 13 0.071 +28%
Indiana 10 0.071 +28%
Illinois 12 0.052 -6%
Tennessee 8 0.050 -9%
Texas 35 0.044 -22%
Virginia 7 0.041 -26%
California 27 0.032 -42%
Georgia 5 0.022 -60%
New York 7 0.018 -68%
Alaska – – –
Alabama – – –
Arkansas – – –
Arizona – – –
Colorado – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Florida – – –
Hawaii – – –
Idaho – – –
Kansas – – –
Louisiana – – –
Massachusetts – – –
Maryland – – –
Maine – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Carolina – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Jersey – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Oklahoma – – –
Oregon – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Carolina – – –
South Dakota – – –
Utah – – –
Vermont – – –
Washington – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Edna

Edna is rare for girls in the United States, ranked #2,463 in 2025 with 72 babies given the name. It is currently holding steady compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 296,158 American babies have been named Edna. Its peak came in 1918, when 8,730 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1910s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Edna stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Edna?

The median living Edna is about 75 years old; half are between 63 and 84. An estimated 57 thousand people named Edna are alive in the United States today.

median 75 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Edna year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 72 #2,463 – –
2024 95 #2,044 – –
2023 103 #1,926 – –
2022 90 #2,125 – –
2021 91 #2,091 – –
2020 88 #2,085 – –
2019 82 #2,238 – –
2018 122 #1,695 – –
2017 75 #2,409 – –
2016 84 #2,275 – –
2015 81 #2,300 – –
2014 92 #2,103 – –
2013 97 #2,006 – –
2012 95 #2,035 – –
2011 100 #1,974 – –
2010 102 #1,964 – –
2009 104 #1,992 – –
2008 113 #1,884 – –
2007 136 #1,638 – –
2006 108 #1,884 – –
2005 131 #1,556 – –
2004 139 #1,461 – –
2003 130 #1,501 – –
2002 126 #1,501 – –
2001 149 #1,296 – –
2000 126 #1,460 – –
1995 131 #1,282 – –
1990 206 #927 – –
1985 203 #809 – –
1980 284 #643 – –
1975 313 #548 – –
1970 448 #466 – –
1965 711 #340 5 #4,058
1960 1,105 #271 – –
1955 1,524 #205 9 #2,826
1950 1,853 #157 – –
1945 2,152 #119 5 #3,452
1940 2,835 #86 10 #2,372
1935 3,420 #67 25 #1,368
1930 4,762 #51 21 #1,615
1925 6,781 #37 27 #1,429
1920 8,331 #27 25 #1,516
1915 8,144 #20 24 #1,380
1910 3,664 #18 16 #760
1905 2,953 #15 13 #674
1900 3,102 #12 13 #706
1895 2,560 #14 – –
1890 1,973 #18 12 #573
1885 1,077 #30 – –
1880 588 #45 – –

Famous people named Edna

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Edna St. Vincent Millay Edna St. Vincent Millay American poet (1892–1950) 19th century
  2. 2 Edna O'Brien Edna O'Brien Irish writer (1930–2024) Contemporary
  3. 3 Edna Ferber Edna Ferber American novelist and playwright (1885–1968) 19th century
  4. 4 Edna Purviance Edna Purviance American actress (1895–1958) 19th century
  5. 5 Edna May Oliver Edna May Oliver American actress (1883–1942) 19th century
  6. 6 Edna Best Edna Best British actress (1900–1974) Contemporary
  7. 7 Edna Parker Edna Parker American supercentenarian (1893–2008) 19th century
  8. 8 Edna Kiplagat Edna Kiplagat Kenyan long-distance runner b. 1979 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Edna, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Edna?

The median living Edna is about 75 years old. Half of all living Ednas are between 63 and 84 years old.

How many people named Edna are alive today?

An estimated 57 thousand people named Edna are alive in the United States, based on 296,158 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Edna mean?

From Hebrew עֶדְנָה (“pleasure; delight”); a variant of Eden in the Book of Tobit.

How popular is the name Edna in 2025?

Edna ranked #2,463 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 72 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Edna?

296,158 babies have been named Edna in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Edna most popular?

Edna peaked in 1918, when 8,730 newborns received the name.

Is Edna a boy or girl name?

Edna is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Edna rising or falling?

Edna has been roughly stable over the past decade.

Will Edna become more popular?

Edna is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 67 girls named Edna in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Edna?

Well-known people named Edna include Edna St. Vincent Millay (writer), Edna O'Brien (writer), Edna Ferber (writer).

Names like Edna

Names that sound and feel close to Edna: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Edna with similar names → More names starting with E →