girl's name
Edith
EE-dith
- Origin English
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 2
- Letters 5
- Popularity Top 1000 (E&W)
- Births on record 339,195
the United States
#499
2025 births
Edith is a girl's name of Old English origin meaning "prosperous in war." It comes from ead, riches or fortune, and gyth, strife — one of the very few Anglo-Saxon women's names still in use.
- Edith is a name of English origin.
- Peaked in US records in 1918, when 7,877 babies were given the name.
- After peaking in the 1910s it fell out of use, and is now climbing again — a classic revival in US records.
- Today about 1 in 1,351 babies in England and Wales is given this name.
- 2 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Edith over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. Edith is more popular in England and Wales — see the country table below. 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 | 10,930 |
| 1890s | 17,713 |
| 1900s | 20,945 |
| 1910s | 56,193 |
| 1920s | 63,172 |
| 1930s | 31,191 |
| 1940s | 22,231 |
| 1950s | 15,518 |
| 1960s | 9,018 |
| 1970s | 4,262 |
| 1980s | 3,217 |
| 1990s | 4,489 |
| 2000s | 4,128 |
| 2010s | 5,020 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 3,678 |
What Edith means
Edith means fortunate in battle, or prosperity through strife. Both elements are concrete Old English words, and the pairing of wealth with conflict was a standard and complimentary formula in Anglo-Saxon naming.
Where Edith comes from
Edith descends from the Old English Eadgyth, from ead, wealth or good fortune — the same element that opens Edward and Edmund — and gyth, war or strife. Saint Edith of Wilton, a tenth-century daughter of King Edgar, kept the name alive through the Norman period, when nearly every other Anglo-Saxon women's name was abandoned. Edith Cavell, the nurse executed in Brussels in 1915 for helping Allied soldiers escape, gave it a powerful modern association in Britain, and our records show the name peaking three years later.
Edith in use
Our data marks Edith as reviving, peaking in 1918 — three years after Cavell's execution — and it now sits at 126 in England and Wales. It first appears in our records in 1880. That 1918 peak is one of the clearer instances in our series of a public event moving a name.
How popular is Edith?
In 2025, Edith was given to 390 babies in England and Wales, ranking #126 that year. It is well established in England and Wales.
Where Edith is used
England and Wales figures withhold any name given to fewer than three babies in a year. The historical chart above uses US records, the only series running back to 1880. Data & sources.
How Edith is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Édith | Édith is Edith written with an acute accent, used in France, where it ranks #1,296. | 300 |
Names that peaked alongside Edith
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Edith also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Edith over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
2 nicknames for Edith
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.
Edith 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 Edith
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Edith — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Edith
What does the name Edith mean?
Edith means "prosperous in war," from the Old English ead, fortune, and gyth, strife.
Is Edith an Anglo-Saxon name?
Yes, and one of very few Anglo-Saxon women's names to survive the Norman Conquest in continuous use.
Who was Edith Cavell?
A British nurse executed in Brussels in 1915 for helping Allied soldiers escape. Our data shows the name peaking three years later.
How popular is the name Edith?
In 2025, Edith was given to 390 babies in England and Wales, ranking #126 that year. It is well established in England and Wales.
Is Edith a girl's or a boy's name?
Edith is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Edith?
Edith has 2 syllables.
When was Edith most popular?
Edith peaked in 1918, when 7,877 babies were given the name. After peaking in the 1910s it fell out of use, and is now climbing again — a classic revival.
What are the nicknames for Edith?
Edith is usually shortened to Edie and Dita.
Is Edith a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Edith currently ranks #126 in the United States. After peaking in the 1910s it fell out of use, and is now climbing again — a classic revival. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.