Ed
Ed was last recorded in 2024, when 9 babies were given it; 26,370 Americans have been recorded with it between 1880 and 2024 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 7,960 Americans named Ed and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (30% of everyone recorded); the median is 66 years old and half are between 61 and 73.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Ed by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Ed mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Ed is “a diminutive of Edward, Edgar, Edwin, or other male given names beginning with Ed-.”
/ɛd/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Ed?
Unranked in 2025
Its last boys’ rank on record is #8,503, in 2024; SSA lists a name only in years with 5 or more births.
696 babies in 1959, the peak
Ed peaked in 1959, when 696 boys were given it, #297 among boys’ names. It was not recorded in 2025.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 9 | #8,503 | 0.01 |
| 2023 | 5 | #12,736 | under 0.01 |
| 2021 | 8 | #9,047 | under 0.01 |
| 2019 | 9 | #8,385 | 0.01 |
| 2018 | 11 | #7,259 | 0.01 |
| 2017 | 7 | #9,974 | under 0.01 |
| 2016 | 8 | #9,073 | under 0.01 |
| 2015 | 8 | #8,968 | under 0.01 |
| 2014 | 6 | #11,102 | under 0.01 |
| 2013 | 7 | #9,941 | under 0.01 |
Every recorded year (142)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 9 | #8,253 | under 0.01 |
| 2010 | 14 | #6,128 | 0.01 |
| 2009 | 15 | #5,884 | 0.01 |
| 2008 | 9 | #8,487 | under 0.01 |
| 2007 | 12 | #6,749 | 0.01 |
| 2006 | 12 | #6,574 | 0.01 |
| 2005 | 12 | #6,332 | 0.01 |
| 2004 | 15 | #5,317 | 0.01 |
| 2003 | 21 | #4,013 | 0.01 |
| 2002 | 20 | #4,072 | 0.01 |
| 2001 | 21 | #3,876 | 0.01 |
| 2000 | 19 | #4,096 | 0.01 |
| 1999 | 22 | #3,504 | 0.01 |
| 1998 | 16 | #4,261 | 0.01 |
| 1997 | 21 | #3,375 | 0.01 |
| 1996 | 7 | #7,354 | under 0.01 |
| 1995 | 24 | #2,947 | 0.01 |
| 1994 | 22 | #3,137 | 0.01 |
| 1993 | 21 | #3,170 | 0.01 |
| 1992 | 26 | #2,689 | 0.01 |
| 1991 | 21 | #3,024 | 0.01 |
| 1990 | 24 | #2,714 | 0.01 |
| 1989 | 23 | #2,710 | 0.01 |
| 1988 | 23 | #2,533 | 0.01 |
| 1987 | 28 | #2,130 | 0.01 |
| 1986 | 33 | #1,849 | 0.02 |
| 1985 | 28 | #2,032 | 0.02 |
| 1984 | 34 | #1,702 | 0.02 |
| 1983 | 33 | #1,721 | 0.02 |
| 1982 | 35 | #1,680 | 0.02 |
| 1981 | 37 | #1,610 | 0.02 |
| 1980 | 40 | #1,528 | 0.02 |
| 1979 | 37 | #1,579 | 0.02 |
| 1978 | 31 | #1,733 | 0.02 |
| 1977 | 29 | #1,797 | 0.02 |
| 1976 | 38 | #1,458 | 0.02 |
| 1975 | 46 | #1,263 | 0.03 |
| 1974 | 58 | #1,087 | 0.04 |
| 1973 | 64 | #1,008 | 0.04 |
| 1972 | 75 | #923 | 0.05 |
| 1971 | 103 | #791 | 0.06 |
| 1970 | 127 | #730 | 0.07 |
| 1969 | 135 | #677 | 0.08 |
| 1968 | 170 | #580 | 0.10 |
| 1967 | 177 | #565 | 0.10 |
| 1966 | 228 | #501 | 0.13 |
| 1965 | 307 | #441 | 0.17 |
| 1964 | 437 | #379 | 0.22 |
| 1963 | 504 | #343 | 0.25 |
| 1962 | 574 | #327 | 0.28 |
| 1961 | 603 | #320 | 0.28 |
| 1960 | 644 | #308 | 0.30 |
| 1959 | 696 | #297 | 0.33 |
| 1958 | 632 | #299 | 0.30 |
| 1957 | 435 | #369 | 0.20 |
| 1956 | 267 | #462 | 0.13 |
| 1955 | 188 | #539 | 0.09 |
| 1954 | 167 | #569 | 0.08 |
| 1953 | 139 | #616 | 0.07 |
| 1952 | 139 | #594 | 0.07 |
| 1951 | 125 | #628 | 0.07 |
| 1950 | 164 | #520 | 0.09 |
| 1949 | 241 | #431 | 0.14 |
| 1948 | 285 | #404 | 0.16 |
| 1947 | 369 | #354 | 0.20 |
| 1946 | 404 | #322 | 0.25 |
| 1945 | 312 | #338 | 0.23 |
| 1944 | 307 | #342 | 0.23 |
| 1943 | 321 | #343 | 0.22 |
| 1942 | 281 | #360 | 0.20 |
| 1941 | 271 | #355 | 0.22 |
| 1940 | 250 | #362 | 0.22 |
| 1939 | 267 | #343 | 0.24 |
| 1938 | 265 | #340 | 0.24 |
| 1937 | 265 | #332 | 0.25 |
| 1936 | 258 | #340 | 0.25 |
| 1935 | 243 | #352 | 0.23 |
| 1934 | 261 | #338 | 0.25 |
| 1933 | 269 | #328 | 0.27 |
| 1932 | 259 | #343 | 0.25 |
| 1931 | 241 | #360 | 0.23 |
| 1930 | 232 | #373 | 0.21 |
| 1929 | 205 | #407 | 0.19 |
| 1928 | 251 | #369 | 0.23 |
| 1927 | 245 | #375 | 0.22 |
| 1926 | 287 | #341 | 0.26 |
| 1925 | 255 | #373 | 0.23 |
| 1924 | 270 | #365 | 0.24 |
| 1923 | 266 | #365 | 0.24 |
| 1922 | 293 | #345 | 0.27 |
| 1921 | 287 | #356 | 0.26 |
| 1920 | 309 | #331 | 0.29 |
| 1919 | 327 | #302 | 0.33 |
| 1918 | 333 | #303 | 0.33 |
| 1917 | 304 | #304 | 0.33 |
| 1916 | 274 | #316 | 0.31 |
| 1915 | 321 | #274 | 0.38 |
| 1914 | 286 | #256 | 0.44 |
| 1913 | 238 | #246 | 0.46 |
| 1912 | 229 | #228 | 0.53 |
| 1911 | 164 | #190 | 0.73 |
| 1910 | 229 | #140 | 1.2 |
| 1909 | 159 | #157 | 1.0 |
| 1908 | 152 | #156 | 1.0 |
| 1907 | 178 | #133 | 1.2 |
| 1906 | 149 | #138 | 1.1 |
| 1905 | 190 | #111 | 1.4 |
| 1904 | 184 | #114 | 1.4 |
| 1903 | 168 | #117 | 1.4 |
| 1902 | 175 | #109 | 1.4 |
| 1901 | 162 | #103 | 1.5 |
| 1900 | 297 | #87 | 2.0 |
| 1899 | 174 | #101 | 1.6 |
| 1898 | 228 | #89 | 1.9 |
| 1897 | 198 | #90 | 1.8 |
| 1896 | 246 | #81 | 2.1 |
| 1895 | 229 | #84 | 2.0 |
| 1894 | 241 | #81 | 2.1 |
| 1893 | 225 | #80 | 2.0 |
| 1892 | 306 | #66 | 2.5 |
| 1891 | 237 | #70 | 2.3 |
| 1890 | 262 | #70 | 2.4 |
| 1889 | 270 | #71 | 2.4 |
| 1888 | 301 | #68 | 2.5 |
| 1887 | 275 | #62 | 2.7 |
| 1886 | 303 | #63 | 2.7 |
| 1885 | 328 | #54 | 3.0 |
| 1884 | 314 | #60 | 2.7 |
| 1883 | 247 | #64 | 2.4 |
| 1882 | 337 | #54 | 3.0 |
| 1881 | 272 | #61 | 2.7 |
| 1880 | 310 | #55 | 2.8 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Ed a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Ed has been given almost only to boys: 165 girls in 142 years of records.
Girls and boys named Ed: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Ed, and how old are they?
7,960 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 30% of the 26,370 Americans ever recorded as Ed. The median Ed alive today is 66 years old; half are between 61 and 73.
The 2020 Census counted 30,006 people named Ed (173 women and girls, 29,833 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 9,406 born in the U.S. The Census count is 3.2 times that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 979 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 4,830 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 1,430 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 397 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 234 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 77 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Ed born?
The states with the most babies named Ed are California, Texas and Alabama, with 25% of its births recorded by state since 1910; Alabama is not among the ten states with the most births.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 1,802 | not ranked | 1.5× |
| Texas | 1,251 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| Alabama | 881 | not ranked | 1.9× |
| Ohio | 847 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| Georgia | 796 | not ranked | 1.4× |
| Mississippi | 775 | not ranked | 2.2× |
| Illinois | 774 | not ranked | 0.7× |
| Michigan | 708 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| North Carolina | 633 | not ranked | 1.1× |
| Tennessee | 521 | not ranked | 1.1× |
Where Ed is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Ed is most over-represented in Mississippi: since 1910 it was given 2.2 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Ed with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 3 names spelled alike, given to 33,242 babies since 1880, Ed is the most given (79% of them). In 2025 none of their 83 babies recorded by SSA was a Ed (SSA lists a name only with 5 or more babies of one sex).
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Ed
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Ed and names like it
- Compare Ed and EddBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1950sEd peaked in 1959.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Ed since 1910.
- The top names of 1959The year the most babies were named Ed.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Ed alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with EMost given first.