boy's name
Edgar
ED-ger
- Origin English
- Gender Boy
- Syllables 2
- Letters 5
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 169,242
the United States
#487
2025 births
Edgar is a boy's name meaning wealthy spear, and it is one of very few Old English names still in wide use. France ranks it 347th — above the United States at 487th — and its American peak was as recent as 2005.
- Edgar is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in 2005, when 2,459 babies were given the name.
- It has been falling over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 5,373 babies in the United States is given this name.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Edgar over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 3,011 |
| 1890s | 2,992 |
| 1900s | 3,154 |
| 1910s | 14,157 |
| 1920s | 18,159 |
| 1930s | 11,937 |
| 1940s | 9,810 |
| 1950s | 8,639 |
| 1960s | 6,531 |
| 1970s | 6,865 |
| 1980s | 11,730 |
| 1990s | 22,356 |
| 2000s | 22,615 |
| 2010s | 11,628 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 4,335 |
What Edgar means
Edgar means wealthy spear, or prosperous spear. The Old English joins a word for riches to one for a spear, so the compound sets prosperity beside war.
Where Edgar comes from
Edgar is the Old English Eadgar — ead, wealth or prosperity, joined to gar, a spear. The same ead begins Edward, Edwin and Edith, and the same gar begins Gareth and ends Oscar. Edgar the Peaceful was king of the English from 959, and his reign is treated as the settled high point of the pre-Conquest monarchy. The name survived the Norman Conquest, which most Old English names did not, and was revived hard in the nineteenth century by Scott and by Edgar Allan Poe.
Edgar in use
Edgar peaked in the United States in 2005, when 2,459 babies were registered — one of the latest peaks of any name at this volume, since it carries a strong Spanish-speaking use. It now ranks 347th in France on 145 births, 487th in the United States on 617 and 1290th in England and Wales on 22, across 169,242 lifetime births in four of the seven markets we track.
How popular is Edgar?
In 2025, Edgar was given to 617 babies in the United States, ranking #487 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Edgar is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
Names that peaked alongside Edgar
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Edgar also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Edgar over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
2 nicknames for Edgar
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Edgar in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Edgar
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Edgar — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Edgar
What does the name Edgar mean?
Wealthy spear — the Old English ead, prosperity, joined to gar, a spear.
Is Edgar an Old English name?
Yes, and one of the few that survived the Norman Conquest in continuous use.
Why did Edgar peak so recently?
Its American peak was 2005, carried by strong Spanish-speaking use alongside the English name.
How popular is Edgar?
347th in France and 487th in the United States — France ranks it higher.
Is Edgar a girl's or a boy's name?
Edgar is given almost entirely to boys in birth records.
How many syllables are in Edgar?
Edgar has 2 syllables.
What are the nicknames for Edgar?
Edgar is usually shortened to Ed and Eddie.
Is Edgar a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Edgar currently ranks #347 in the United States. It has been falling over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.