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The first name 
Edward

Edward is a first name typically given to boys, but in rare cases also used as a girls name.

Edward – known and loved in the US!

The name Edward isn’t among the current fashionable names in our top 10 stats, but nonetheless, it’s still very popular and common. In our SmartGenius ranking of all boys names, Edward ranks 163. Recently, out of every 10,000 newborn boys, approximately 13 were named Edward. In total, there are currently 1,222,044 people – children, adults and seniors – named Edward living in the United States, which is approximately 0.36 % of the entire population.

You won't believe all there is 
to discover about the name
 
Edward

What does the name 
Edward mean?

The first name Edward means roughly ‘the keeper of the treasure’. The name is composed of the Old English words ‘ead’ for ‘inheritance, possession’ and ‘weard’ for ‘guardian’.

Edward was a very popular name... for English kings and rulers. There have been eight kings called Edward on the English throne beginning with Edward I (1239–1307) to Edward VIII (1894–1972).

Edward -
a popular traditional name in the U.S.

History tends to focus on the most famous and the best. But even those who play second fiddle leave their mark: Edward is one of those names without which the orchestra would be incomplete. In fact, the SmartGenius top ranking #8 has been hit more than once, although the last instance was some time ago, way back in the last century in 1923. But even though the peak of its popularity was many decades ago, the name Edward has been given to newborn boys every year since records began. Edward is a name of exceptional enduring popularity, conveying the special vibes of the 20th century.

In years where the graph has no value, the name Edward was given less than five times or even none at all in the entire USA.

Edward has arrived in the 21st century

The popularity of the name Edward peaked long ago, but the name has nevertheless arrived in the 21st century. In 2022, it ranked #212 in our statistics - maybe a far cry from when your grandparents or great-grandparents were kids and Edward made it into the top ten more than once, but still: Traditional names often turn out to be perennial favorites, so maybe it is only a matter of time before Edward returns to the top.

Edward -
at home all over the USA, especially popular in Rhode Island

Wherever you go, wherever you live – there’s a good chance to meet Edward. Because: There are men and boys named Edward in every state in the USA. This may sound quite unspectacular at first, but in fact, of the nearly 50,000 different male first names that occur in the USA, just 386 are recorded in each individual state, so the name Edward is definitely something very special. In some regions it even makes it into the top 100 of the most popular male first names, for example in Pennsylvania, where Edward ranks on position 11. The greatest chance of meeting Edward, however, is in Rhode Island, where one in 65 boys and men bears this beautiful name – that is far above average – in the entire USA it is only one in 137 men and boys and in Utah, where the name is least represented in relation to the population, you even have to ask an average of 400 men and boys for their name before you once get Edward as an answer.

Edward has 6 letters 
and begins with an E

Well, you might say, you probably figured that out yourself! But what you might not know is: The letter E is neither particularly common nor particularly rare as a first letter for boys' names: 3.8% of all common boys' names in the US begin with this letter. The most common first letters of boys' names, by the way, are J, A and D, while X, U and Q are the least common initials of boys' names.

With six letters, the name Edward is of average length. In fact, 28% of all common first names in the US consist of exactly six letters. 24% of all first names are shorter, while 48% have seven letters or more. On average, first names in the US (not counting hyphenated names) are 6.5 letters long. There are no significant differences between boys' and girls' names.

That means that with 3.8%, E as the first letter in boys' names is almost as common as all 26 letters on average - and of all the boys' names that start with an E, Edward is the most common.

Other names with 
E, d, w, a, r and d

If you take all the letters in the name Edward – E, d, w, a, r and d – and put them together again, you can form other names, such as Edawrd or Deward.

With hands, flags and sounds 
How to say Edward

If your name is Edward and someone asks after your name, you can of course just tell them what it is. But sometimes that isn't so easy - what if it's too loud, and you don't understand them well? Or what if the other person is so far away that you can see them but not hear them? In these situations, you can communicate your name in so many other ways: you call spell it, sign it, or even use a flag to wave it...

This is how you spell the name Edward

So that everyone really understands you when you have to spell the name Edward, you can simply say:

Elephant

Dinosaur

Windmill

Apple

Rocket

Dinosaur

This is how the name Edward is spelled in the NATO phonetic alphabet

The NATO alphabet often helps people spell words on the phone or radio when there are communication problems.

How do you write Edward in Braille?

Braille is made up of dots, which the blind and visually impaired can feel to read words.

Edward

Edward

You want to tell a deaf person that your name is Edward

Just use American Sign Language!

The name Edward is particularly colorful in the Semaphore flag signaling system!

These flags are used for maritime communication - each flag represents a letter.

E
D
W
A
R
D

Have you ever waved the name Edward

In the navy, sailors of two ships might wave flags to each other to send messages. A sailor holds two flags in specific positions to represent different letters.

E
D
W
A
R
D

Beeping like crazy...

In Morse code, letters and other characters are represented only by a series of short and long tones. For example, a short tone followed by a long tone stands for the letter A. Edward sounds like this: