Given name
Enid
“one who gives life”
Enid is used as a given name. One Welsh interpretation is “one who gives life.” Its derivation is not certain.
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Welsh interpretation is “one who gives life.” Its derivation is not certain.
Where it comes from
A possible origin is Welsh, although the derivation remains uncertain.
How it developed
From Middle Welsh eneit (“spirit, life; purity”), from Proto-Celtic *anatyom, from Proto-Indo-European *h₂enh₁- (“to breathe, blow”).
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Its literary history includes the stories of King Arthur and his knights.
Enid through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 9,240
- 6 boys · 9,234 girls
- Most popular year
- 1920
- 261 babies
- 2025
- 30
- #4,586 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +37%
- Rising
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 30 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 4,586 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 37.2% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 261 in 1920. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 6,529 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Enid’s family of names
Enid has a related form in Enide. Enid has a related form in Enit. Enid has a related form in Enite.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 6
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
People named Enid
- Enid BlytonEnglish author (1897–1968)
- Diana RiggEnglish actress (1938–2020)
- Enid MarkeyAmerican actress of stage, film and television (1894–1981)
- Enid BagnoldEnglish dramatist, playwright, memoirist (1889-1981)
- Enid BennettAustralian actress (1893–1969)
- Enid LyonsAustralian politician1897–1981
- Enid YandellAmerican sculptor1869–1934
- Vivian Bonnellactor and calypso singer (1924-2003)
- Enid BalintEnglish psychoanalyst and welfare worker1903–1994
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Enid, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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