Given name & surname · also Old English
Edith
Edith is used as a given name and a surname. One English interpretation is “the spoils of war; one who is joyous; a treasure.”
Original Old EnglishĒadġȳð
Meaning & origin
What it means
One English interpretation is “the spoils of war; one who is joyous; a treasure.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Old English.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Edith through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 271,705
- 825 boys · 270,880 girls
- Most popular year
- 1918
- 7,877 babies
- 2025
- 595
- #499 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −5%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 595 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 499 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 4.7% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 7,858 in 1918. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (51). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 92,920 as a first name in 2020; a sample rank of No. 85,571 among surnames in 1990.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Edith’s family of names
Edith has an affectionate form in Edie. Edith shares a linguistic root with Edyta. Edith has a related form in Eda.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Edith has relatives in 18 languages. Lines run from its Old English roots to each of them.
Old Englishwhere Edith comes from · 1 name
Nicknames & forms 26
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Ediediminutive · English
- Edydiminutive · Middle English
- Edelinevariant
- Edavariant
- Edythevariant · English
- Edelinavariant
- Edythvariant
- Eddithlikely variant
Show 18 moreShow fewer
- Editvariant · Norwegian, Hungarian
- Eydievariant
- Edytavariant · Polish
- Edevariant
- Editavariant · German, Slovak
- Edeevariant
- Edythavariant · English
- Edithevariant · German, English
- Edithavariant · German
- Édithvariant · French
- Edytevariant
- Edyttavariant
- Edytvariant
- Edittavariant
- Edelynavariant
- Edelynevariant
- Eadgythvariant · German
- Edgithavariant · German
Across languages 12
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- ĒadġȳðOld English
- EttiFinnish
- Едітаequivalent
- ЭдитRussian
- ЭдитаRussian
- EditePortuguese
- Eadederivative · English
- Eeditderivative · Finnish
Show 4 moreShow fewer
People named Edith
- Edith WhartonAmerican writer and designer (1862–1937)
- Edith SteinJewish-German Catholic nun, theologian and philosopher (1891–1942)
- Norma ShearerCanadian-American actress (1902-1983)
- Edith CavellBritish nurse (1865-1915)
- Peggy AshcroftBritish actress (1907-1991)
- Edie FalcoAmerican actressborn 1963
- Edith EvansBritish actress (1888–1976)
- Edith SödergranFinland Swedish poet and writer (1892–1923)
- Edith RooseveltFirst Lady of the United States from 1901 to 19091861–1948
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Edith, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Etta
“ruler of the house”
>99% girls
Ethel
“a noble woman” · “one who is noble”
>99% girls
Elzie
“from the nobleman's estate”
19% boys · 81% girls
Ethyl
Ethyl is a feminine given name from Old English.
>99% girls
Alvina
“triend of the elves” · “friend of the elves”
>99% girls
Marguerite
“resembling a pearl” · “the child of light”
>99% girls
Maida
“a maiden; a virgin”
>99% girls
Marjorie
Marjorie is used as a form of Margaret.
>99% girls