boys' name ★ peaked 1924

Edward

Meaning wealth, riches Gender Boy Rank 2025 #224 Trend ↓ Falling 19%

From Middle English Edward, from Old English Ēadweard, from Proto-West Germanic *Audawardu, from Proto-Germanic *Audawarduz, corresponding to ed (“wealth, riches”) +…

Rank 2025
#224
among boys · ↑4 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
1,591
named Edward
How common
1 in 1,074
boys born in 2025
Peak year
1924
21,223 babies
All-time total
1,308,955
#20 all-time among boys
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Edward popularity over time

1,308,955 babies have been named Edward 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
6.2512.518.752518801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

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 69 23,133 23,202 2,320 – #10
1890s 101 22,033 22,134 2,213 -5% #9
1900s 85 24,516 24,601 2,460 +11% #9
1910s 431 125,720 126,151 12,615 +413% #8
1920s 1,014 197,348 198,362 19,836 +57% #8
1930s 714 147,849 148,563 14,856 -25% #10
1940s 518 174,801 175,319 17,532 +18% #16
1950s 557 188,323 188,880 18,888 +8% #22
1960s 676 143,984 144,660 14,466 -23% #26
1970s 596 83,425 84,021 8,402 -42% #31
1980s 424 60,832 61,256 6,126 -27% #51
1990s 124 45,164 45,288 4,529 -26% #68
2000s 47 30,833 30,880 3,088 -32% #108
2010s 5 25,263 25,268 2,527 -18% #136
2020s (to 2025) – 10,370 10,370 1,728 -32% #195

Where Edward is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (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 boys Implied rank
2026 1,536 0.90 #230
2027 1,490 0.87 #237
2028 1,452 0.85 #242
2029 1,421 0.83 #242
2030 1,395 0.82 #248

Where Edward is most popular

Boys named Edward per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.975 per 1,000. Strongest in District of Columbia, Massachusetts, and New Hampshire.

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

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Edward 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 Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
District of Columbia 36 2.44 +150%
Massachusetts 285 2.07 +113%
New Hampshire 45 2.03 +108%
Alaska 24 2.02 +107%
Maine 38 1.96 +101%
North Dakota 31 1.82 +86%
Connecticut 119 1.76 +80%
Rhode Island 28 1.72 +76%
Delaware 26 1.71 +76%
Maryland 194 1.63 +67%
Wisconsin 187 1.58 +62%
South Carolina 162 1.57 +61%
Minnesota 190 1.55 +59%
Pennsylvania 379 1.43 +46%
Illinois 358 1.40 +44%
Virginia 261 1.38 +41%
New Jersey 264 1.31 +35%
Michigan 263 1.28 +32%
New York 549 1.27 +30%
Missouri 167 1.20 +24%
Alabama 131 1.20 +23%
Montana 21 1.19 +22%
Kansas 81 1.18 +21%
Colorado 150 1.16 +19%
Iowa 80 1.16 +19%
Nevada 66 1.16 +19%
Kentucky 114 1.14 +17%
New Mexico 37 1.12 +15%
Ohio 289 1.09 +12%
Nebraska 47 1.08 +11%
West Virginia 34 1.04 +7%
Louisiana 106 1.04 +6%
Oregon 77 1.01 ≈ national
North Carolina 258 1.01 ≈ national
Washington 164 1.00 ≈ national
Tennessee 179 0.992 ≈ national
California 903 0.988 ≈ national
Mississippi 55 0.968 ≈ national
Vermont 6 0.955 ≈ national
Arizona 154 0.941 ≈ national
Florida 439 0.927 -5%
Georgia 229 0.904 -7%
Indiana 144 0.898 -8%
Oklahoma 77 0.871 -11%
Texas 754 0.856 -12%
Arkansas 50 0.790 -19%
Hawaii 11 0.708 -27%
Utah 58 0.608 -38%
Idaho 22 0.538 -45%
South Dakota 5 0.269 -72%
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 Edward

Edward is moderately common for boys in the United States, ranked #224 in 2025 with 1,591 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 1,308,955 American babies have been named Edward. Its peak came in 1924, when 21,223 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1920s.

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 Edward stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Edward?

The median living Edward is about 61 years old; half are between 43 and 73. An estimated 620 thousand people named Edward are alive in the United States today.

median 61 020406080100

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

Edward 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 – – 1,591 #224
2024 – – 1,589 #228
2023 – – 1,737 #213
2022 – – 1,752 #216
2021 – – 1,749 #218
2020 – – 1,952 #195
2019 – – 2,054 #192
2018 – – 2,286 #170
2017 – – 2,328 #170
2016 – – 2,518 #162
2015 – – 2,602 #158
2014 5 #17,290 2,591 #162
2013 – – 2,711 #145
2012 – – 2,597 #157
2011 – – 2,671 #148
2010 – – 2,905 #136
2009 – – 2,988 #137
2008 – – 2,796 #148
2007 7 #14,336 2,828 #145
2006 – – 2,871 #141
2005 – – 2,975 #134
2004 10 #10,128 3,156 #129
2003 5 #16,499 3,114 #130
2002 6 #14,106 3,244 #119
2001 8 #11,319 3,376 #113
2000 11 #8,744 3,485 #108
1995 9 #8,980 4,143 #88
1990 19 #4,918 5,746 #68
1985 44 #2,295 5,869 #59
1980 61 #1,788 6,762 #52
1975 57 #1,676 7,381 #41
1970 62 #1,562 12,275 #31
1965 84 #1,170 14,404 #29
1960 70 #1,317 16,595 #26
1955 51 #1,409 19,280 #25
1950 61 #1,186 18,714 #22
1945 44 #1,192 15,870 #18
1940 45 #1,082 14,405 #16
1935 69 #823 13,844 #13
1930 102 #680 17,352 #10
1925 106 #715 20,090 #9
1920 64 #909 20,097 #8
1915 53 #907 15,889 #8
1910 18 #1,037 3,407 #9
1905 11 #1,185 2,366 #9
1900 8 #1,476 2,720 #9
1895 13 #903 2,203 #10
1890 13 #766 2,282 #11
1885 5 #1,086 2,220 #11
1880 – – 2,364 #11

Famous people named Edward

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

  1. 1 Edward VIII Edward VIII King of the United Kingdom in 1936 1894–1972 · 19th century
  2. 2 Edward VII Edward VII King of the United Kingdom from 1901 to 1910 1841–1910 · 19th century
  3. 3 Edward the Confessor Politician, United Kingdom 1003–1066 · Medieval
  4. 4 Edward the Black Prince Edward the Black Prince Heir apparent of Edward III of England (1330–1376) Medieval
  5. 5 Edward I of England Edward I of England King of England from 1272 to 1307 1239–1307 · Medieval
  6. 6 Edward the Elder Edward the Elder King of the Anglo-Saxons from 899 to 924 871–924 · Medieval
  7. 7 Edward III of England Edward III of England King of England from 1327 to 1377 1312–1377 · Medieval
  8. 8 Edward Smith Edward Smith British merchant navy officer (1850–1912) 19th century
  9. 9 Edward Hopper Edward Hopper American painter and printmaker (1882–1967) 19th century
  10. 10 Edward Said Edward Said Palestinian-American academic (1935–2003) Contemporary
  11. 11 Edward Bernays Edward Bernays American public relations pioneer (1891–1995) 19th century
  12. 12 Edward II of England Edward II of England King of England from 1307 to 1327 1284–1327 · Medieval
  13. 13 Edward the Martyr Edward the Martyr King of the English from 975 to 978 962–978 · Medieval
  14. 14 Edward Elgar Edward Elgar English composer (1857–1934) 19th century
  15. 15 Edward IV of England Edward IV of England King of England (1461–1470; 1471–1483) 1442–1483 · Medieval
  16. 16 Edward Jenner Edward Jenner English physician (1749–1823) 18th century
  17. 17 Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales Edward of Westminster, Prince of Wales Heir apparent of Henry VI of England (1453–1471) Medieval
  18. 18 Edward Gibbon Edward Gibbon British essayist, historian and politician (1737–1794) 18th century
  19. 19 Edward de Vere, 17th Earl of Oxford Politician, United Kingdom 1550–1604 · 16th century
  20. 20 Edward VI of England Edward VI of England King of England and Ireland from 1547 to 1553 1537–1553 · 16th century

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Edward?

The median living Edward is about 61 years old. Half of all living Edwards are between 43 and 73 years old.

How many people named Edward are alive today?

An estimated 620 thousand people named Edward are alive in the United States, based on 1,308,955 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Edward mean?

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.

How popular is the name Edward in 2025?

Edward ranked #224 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 1,591 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Edward?

1,308,955 babies have been named Edward in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Edward most popular?

Edward peaked in 1924, when 21,223 newborns received the name.

Is Edward a boy or girl name?

Edward is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Edward rising or falling?

Edward is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Edward become more popular?

Edward is trending downward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 1,395 boys named Edward in 2030, which would rank around #248. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Edward?

Well-known people named Edward include Edward VIII (politician), Edward VII (nobleman), Edward the Confessor (politician).

Names like Edward

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

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