Edward
Edward was given to 1,591 boys in 2025, #224 among boys’ names; 1,308,955 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 578,000 Americans named Edward and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (44% of everyone recorded); the median is 61 years old and half are between 43 and 72.
Edward is the #42 most common first name among living American men and boys, by this estimate.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Edward by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Edward mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Edward is “a male given name from Old English.” Its etymology gives the senses “wealth, riches” (ed) and “ward, guard” (ward).
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.
/ˈɛdwɚd/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Edward?
#224 among boys’ names, 2025
Edward fell from #158 in 2015 to #224 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 1.4 to 0.93 per 1,000.
21,223 babies in 1924, the peak
Edward peaked in 1924, when 21,223 babies were given it (21,126 boys, #9 among boys’ names). The 1,591 births of 2025 are 7% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1,591 | #224 | 0.93 |
| 2024 | 1,589 | #228 | 0.92 |
| 2023 | 1,737 | #213 | 1.0 |
| 2022 | 1,752 | #216 | 1.0 |
| 2021 | 1,749 | #218 | 1.0 |
| 2020 | 1,952 | #195 | 1.1 |
| 2019 | 2,054 | #192 | 1.1 |
| 2018 | 2,286 | #170 | 1.3 |
| 2017 | 2,328 | #170 | 1.3 |
| 2016 | 2,518 | #162 | 1.3 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 2,602 | #158 | 1.4 |
| 2014 | 2,591 | #162 | 1.3 |
| 2013 | 2,711 | #145 | 1.4 |
| 2012 | 2,597 | #157 | 1.4 |
| 2011 | 2,671 | #148 | 1.4 |
| 2010 | 2,905 | #136 | 1.5 |
| 2009 | 2,988 | #137 | 1.5 |
| 2008 | 2,796 | #148 | 1.4 |
| 2007 | 2,828 | #145 | 1.4 |
| 2006 | 2,871 | #141 | 1.4 |
| 2005 | 2,975 | #134 | 1.5 |
| 2004 | 3,156 | #129 | 1.6 |
| 2003 | 3,114 | #130 | 1.6 |
| 2002 | 3,244 | #119 | 1.7 |
| 2001 | 3,376 | #113 | 1.7 |
| 2000 | 3,485 | #108 | 1.8 |
| 1999 | 3,597 | #103 | 1.9 |
| 1998 | 3,575 | #105 | 1.9 |
| 1997 | 3,915 | #100 | 2.1 |
| 1996 | 4,073 | #96 | 2.2 |
| 1995 | 4,143 | #88 | 2.2 |
| 1994 | 4,520 | #84 | 2.3 |
| 1993 | 4,790 | #78 | 2.4 |
| 1992 | 5,233 | #70 | 2.6 |
| 1991 | 5,572 | #68 | 2.8 |
| 1990 | 5,746 | #68 | 2.8 |
| 1989 | 5,849 | #62 | 2.9 |
| 1988 | 5,801 | #62 | 3.0 |
| 1987 | 5,913 | #61 | 3.2 |
| 1986 | 5,777 | #61 | 3.1 |
| 1985 | 5,869 | #59 | 3.2 |
| 1984 | 5,914 | #58 | 3.3 |
| 1983 | 6,005 | #55 | 3.3 |
| 1982 | 6,281 | #53 | 3.5 |
| 1981 | 6,661 | #51 | 3.7 |
| 1980 | 6,762 | #52 | 3.8 |
| 1979 | 6,877 | #48 | 4.0 |
| 1978 | 6,473 | #47 | 3.9 |
| 1977 | 6,840 | #47 | 4.2 |
| 1976 | 7,048 | #45 | 4.5 |
| 1975 | 7,381 | #41 | 4.7 |
| 1974 | 7,817 | #40 | 5.0 |
| 1973 | 8,360 | #39 | 5.4 |
| 1972 | 9,292 | #34 | 5.7 |
| 1971 | 11,062 | #32 | 6.3 |
| 1970 | 12,275 | #31 | 6.6 |
| 1969 | 12,451 | #32 | 7.0 |
| 1968 | 12,276 | #31 | 7.1 |
| 1967 | 12,652 | #31 | 7.3 |
| 1966 | 13,279 | #30 | 7.4 |
| 1965 | 14,404 | #29 | 7.7 |
| 1964 | 15,609 | #27 | 7.8 |
| 1963 | 15,323 | #27 | 7.5 |
| 1962 | 15,518 | #29 | 7.5 |
| 1961 | 15,877 | #29 | 7.5 |
| 1960 | 16,595 | #26 | 7.8 |
| 1959 | 16,914 | #27 | 7.9 |
| 1958 | 17,377 | #28 | 8.2 |
| 1957 | 18,711 | #25 | 8.7 |
| 1956 | 19,436 | #25 | 9.2 |
| 1955 | 19,280 | #25 | 9.4 |
| 1954 | 19,493 | #22 | 9.6 |
| 1953 | 18,984 | #23 | 9.6 |
| 1952 | 19,501 | #23 | 10.0 |
| 1951 | 19,913 | #23 | 10.6 |
| 1950 | 18,714 | #22 | 10.5 |
| 1949 | 19,174 | #21 | 10.8 |
| 1948 | 18,983 | #19 | 10.8 |
| 1947 | 20,539 | #19 | 11.2 |
| 1946 | 18,585 | #19 | 11.4 |
| 1945 | 15,870 | #18 | 11.8 |
| 1944 | 16,482 | #18 | 12.1 |
| 1943 | 17,713 | #18 | 12.4 |
| 1942 | 17,470 | #17 | 12.6 |
| 1941 | 15,580 | #17 | 12.7 |
| 1940 | 14,405 | #16 | 12.4 |
| 1939 | 14,427 | #15 | 13.0 |
| 1938 | 14,551 | #13 | 13.1 |
| 1937 | 14,930 | #13 | 14.0 |
| 1936 | 14,194 | #13 | 13.7 |
| 1935 | 13,844 | #13 | 13.3 |
| 1934 | 13,917 | #13 | 13.5 |
| 1933 | 13,797 | #11 | 13.9 |
| 1932 | 15,191 | #11 | 14.5 |
| 1931 | 15,646 | #11 | 15.0 |
| 1930 | 17,352 | #10 | 15.8 |
| 1929 | 17,220 | #10 | 16.0 |
| 1928 | 18,492 | #10 | 16.7 |
| 1927 | 19,115 | #10 | 17.0 |
| 1926 | 19,375 | #10 | 17.4 |
| 1925 | 20,090 | #9 | 18.0 |
| 1924 | 21,126 | #9 | 18.7 |
| 1923 | 20,597 | #8 | 18.8 |
| 1922 | 20,419 | #8 | 18.8 |
| 1921 | 20,817 | #8 | 18.9 |
| 1920 | 20,097 | #8 | 18.9 |
| 1919 | 18,536 | #8 | 18.9 |
| 1918 | 19,489 | #8 | 19.2 |
| 1917 | 17,501 | #8 | 18.9 |
| 1916 | 17,005 | #8 | 19.1 |
| 1915 | 15,889 | #8 | 18.7 |
| 1914 | 12,319 | #8 | 18.8 |
| 1913 | 9,474 | #8 | 18.5 |
| 1912 | 7,936 | #8 | 18.5 |
| 1911 | 4,164 | #9 | 18.4 |
| 1910 | 3,407 | #9 | 17.5 |
| 1909 | 2,935 | #9 | 17.9 |
| 1908 | 2,707 | #9 | 17.5 |
| 1907 | 2,576 | #9 | 17.5 |
| 1906 | 2,398 | #9 | 18.0 |
| 1905 | 2,366 | #9 | 17.9 |
| 1904 | 2,335 | #9 | 18.2 |
| 1903 | 2,268 | #9 | 19.0 |
| 1902 | 2,294 | #9 | 18.7 |
| 1901 | 1,917 | #9 | 18.0 |
| 1900 | 2,720 | #9 | 18.1 |
| 1899 | 1,901 | #9 | 17.9 |
| 1898 | 2,337 | #9 | 19.0 |
| 1897 | 2,121 | #9 | 18.8 |
| 1896 | 2,296 | #9 | 19.2 |
| 1895 | 2,203 | #10 | 18.8 |
| 1894 | 2,179 | #11 | 18.8 |
| 1893 | 2,309 | #9 | 20.6 |
| 1892 | 2,416 | #11 | 19.8 |
| 1891 | 1,989 | #11 | 19.7 |
| 1890 | 2,282 | #11 | 20.6 |
| 1889 | 2,299 | #10 | 20.8 |
| 1888 | 2,470 | #11 | 20.4 |
| 1887 | 2,125 | #10 | 21.0 |
| 1886 | 2,312 | #11 | 20.9 |
| 1885 | 2,220 | #11 | 20.6 |
| 1884 | 2,439 | #11 | 21.3 |
| 1883 | 2,250 | #11 | 21.5 |
| 1882 | 2,477 | #11 | 21.8 |
| 1881 | 2,177 | #10 | 21.6 |
| 1880 | 2,364 | #11 | 21.4 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Edward a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Edward has been given almost only to boys: 5,361 girls in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Edward: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Edward, and how old are they?
578,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 44% of the 1,308,955 Americans ever recorded as Edward. The median Edward alive today is 61 years old; half are between 43 and 72.
The 2020 Census counted 616,122 people named Edward (721 women and girls, 615,401 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 654,927 born in the U.S. The Census count is 6% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 54,800 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 226,000 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 137,000 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 84,000 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 49,300 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 27,300 |
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 Edward born?
The states with the most babies named Edward are New York, Pennsylvania and California, with 29% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 153,540 | #208 | 1.4× |
| Pennsylvania | 122,084 | #184 | 1.5× |
| California | 82,566 | #244 | 0.9× |
| Illinois | 79,965 | #196 | 1.2× |
| New Jersey | 62,139 | #202 | 1.6× |
| Massachusetts | 60,475 | #158 | 1.6× |
| Ohio | 59,976 | #260 | 0.9× |
| Texas | 52,690 | #282 | 0.7× |
| Michigan | 50,212 | #191 | 1.0× |
| North Carolina | 27,407 | #205 | 0.7× |
Where Edward is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Edward is most over-represented in New Jersey: since 1910 it was given 1.6 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 Edward 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 2 names spelled alike, given to 1,309,037 babies since 1880, Edward is the most given (100% of them). In 2025 it was given to 1,591 of their 1,591 babies (100%), again the most given.
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 Edward
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 Edward and names like it
- Compare Edward and EdwordBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1920sEdward peaked in 1924.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Edward since 1910.
- Old English namesWiktionary’s origin for Edward: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1924The year the most babies were named Edward.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Edward alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with EMost given first.