Given name & surname · also Old English
Eden
“place of pleasure”
Eden has two distinct strands: the biblical garden and an English surname with an older personal name behind it. The garden association evokes a place of pleasure; the surname’s elements tell a different story.
Original Hebrewעדן
Meaning & origin
What it means
The Hebrew place name is explained as “place of pleasure.” In the English surname tradition, the older personal name instead combines prosperity, riches or fortune with a bear cub. These meanings belong to different historical routes.
Where it comes from
One English route to Eden passes through a surname derived from medieval Edun or Edon. The biblical Garden of Eden supplies a separate Hebrew association that may have encouraged modern given-name use.
How it developed
The surname developed from Edun or Edon, formed with Old English éad and hūn. Given-name Eden can therefore reflect a surname returning to personal use, while also drawing on the quite separate Garden of Eden association.
The story
Eden’s English history includes a medieval given name becoming a surname and later being used as a given name again. Its biblical place-name association probably helped that later use, although it should not erase the surname’s independent background.
In the Bible
In the Bible, the name Eden appears in Genesis 2:8, Genesis 2:13-14, Ezekiel 27:33 and 2 other passages.
- Genesis 2:8
- Genesis 2:13-14
- Ezekiel 27:33
- 2 Kings 19:12
- 2 Chronicles 29:12
From biblical name research
Eden through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 63,400
- 10,966 boys · 52,434 girls
- Most popular year
- 2025
- 3,913 babies
- 2025
- 3,913
- #70 for girls · #544 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +33%
- Rising
Boys, girls and both
The balance of boys and girls given this name has shifted over time. Recent births are 21% boys.
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 3,362 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 70 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 40.2% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. It also appeared in 551 birth records for boys in 2025. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (343). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 42,785 as a first name in 2020; 6,962 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Eden’s family of names
In English usage, Eden has a related form in Edna. Eden has a related form in Edin. Eden has a related form in Edan.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Eden has relatives in 3 languages. Lines run from its Hebrew roots to each of them.
2 related names in 3 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 12
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Ednavariant · Tagalog, English
- Edynvariant
- Edanvariant
- Edinvariant
- Edonvariant
- Eadenvariant
- Eddenlikely variant
- Edennlikely variant
Show 4 moreShow fewer
Spellings & scripts 3
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 3
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 6
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Eden
- Eden HazardBelgian footballer (born 1991)
- Eden GolanIsraeli singerborn 2003
- Eden AleneIsraeli singerborn 2000
- Eden SherAmerican actress (born 1991)
- Eden RiegelAmerican actressborn 1981
- Eden PhillpottsEnglish author, poet and dramatist (1862–1960)
- Eden Ben BasatIsraeli footballerborn 1986
- Eden EspinosaAmerican actress and singerborn 1978
- Eden SilvaBritish tennis playerborn 1996
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
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If you love Eden, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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