Edward is an English

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a fa ...

. It is derived from the

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons were a Cultural identity, cultural group who inhabited England in the Early Middle Ages. They traced their origins to settlers who came to Britain from mainland Europe in the 5th century. However, the ethnogenesis of the Anglo- ...

name ''Ēadweard'', composed of the elements ''wikt:ead#Old English, ēad'' "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and ''wikt:weard#Old English, weard'' "guardian, protector”.

History

The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Saxon England, but the rule of the House of Normandy, Norman and House of Plantagenet, Plantagenet dynasties had effectively ended its use amongst the upper classes. The popularity of the name was revived when Henry III of England, Henry III named his firstborn son, the future Edward I of England, Edward I, as part of his efforts to promote a cult around Edward the Confessor, for whom Henry had a deep admiration.

Variant forms

The name has been adopted in the Iberian Peninsula#Modern Iberia, Iberian peninsula since the 15th century, due to Edward, King of Portugal, whose mother was English. The Spanish/Portuguese forms of the name are Eduardo and Duarte (name), Duarte. Other variant forms include French Édouard, Italian Edoardo and Odoardo, German, Dutch, Czech and Romanian Eduard (name), Eduard and Scandinavian Edvard. Short forms include Ed, Eddy, Eddie, Ted, Teddy and Ned.

People called Edward

Medieval

* Edward the Elder (c. 874–924), the son of Alfred the Great * Edward the Martyr (c. 962–978), English king and Christian martyr * Edward the Confessor (c. 1003–1066), English King; patron saint of England until 1348 * Edward I of England (1239–1307), called Longshanks; conqueror of Wales * Edward Balliol (c. 1283–1367), pretender to the Scottish throne during the reign of David II * Edward II of England (1284–1327), deposed in January 1327, probably murdered * Edward III of England (1312–1377), English king * Edward, the Black Prince (1330–1376), eldest son of King Edward III * Edward, Duke of Guelders (1336–1371) * Edward IV of England (1442–1483), older brother of Richard III, father of Edward V * Edward V of England (1470–c. 1483), one of the princes in the Tower

Modern

Royalty and nobility

* Edward VI of England (1537–1553), the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour * Edward, Count Palatine of Simmern (1625–1663), Count Palatine * Prince Edward, Duke of York and Albany (1739–1767), brother of George III * Lord Edward FitzGerald (1763–1798), Irish aristocrat and revolutionary * Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn (1767–1820), the son of George III, father of Queen Victoria * Prince Edward of Saxe-Weimar (1823–1902), son of Prince Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach * Princess Edward of Saxe-Weimar (1827–1904), wife of Prince Edward of Saxe-Weimar * Edward VII, Edward VII of the United Kingdom (1841–1910), the son of Queen Victoria * Lord Edward Cecil (1867–1918), son of the 3rd Marquess of Salisbury * Edward VIII, Edward VIII of the United Kingdom (1894–1972), the son of George V, abdicated * Prince Edward, Duke of Kent (born 1935), grandson of George V * Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex and Forfar (born 1964), the son of Queen Elizabeth II * Lady Edward Manners (born 1975), wife of Lord Edward Manners and daughter-in-law of the 10th Duke of Rutland * Edward Windsor, Lord Downpatrick (born 1988), the grandson of The Duke of Kent

Politicians

* Edward Dickinson Baker (1811-1861) was an American politician, lawyer, and military leader, close friend of Abraham Lincoln * Edward Dembowski (1822–1846), Polish leftist, philosopher and columnist * Edward Gierek (1913–2001), First Secretary of Polish United Workers Party from 1970 to 1980 * Edward Heath (1916–2005), former Prime Minister of the United Kingdom * Edward Jayetileke, Chief Justice of Sri Lanka from 1950 to 1952 * Edward Stanley Kellogg (1870–1948), 16th Governor of American Samoa, former United States senator * Ted Kennedy, Edward "Ted" M. Kennedy (1932–2009), American politician, lawyer, and senator, Kennedy family member * Edward M. Kennedy Jr. (born 1961), American politician and lawyer, son of Ted Kennedy * Ed Miliband (born 1969), British politician, former leader of the Labour Party * Ed Murray (Washington politician), Ed Murray (born 1955), Democratic politician and former Mayor of Seattle * Edward Nothnagle (1866-1938), Pennsylvania State Representative * E. A. Nugawela, Edward Alexander Nugawela (1898–1972), Sri Lankan Sinhala politician and army major * Edward L. Romero, entrepreneur and American diplomat who served as the U.S. Ambassador to Spain and Andorra between 1998 and 2001 * Edward Stettinius, Jr. (1900–1949), United States Secretary of State * Edward L. Stokes (1880-1964), U.S. Congressman from Pennsylvania * Edward Maria Wingfield (1550–1631), English colonist and soldier * Edward Youde (1924–1986), 26th Governor of Hong Kong

Artists and intellectuals

* Edward Asare (born 1993), Ghanaian Blogger and a Digital Marketing Professional * Edward Barker (cartoonist), Edward Barker, English cartoonist who signed his drawings simply as Edward * Edward Blishen, English author * Ed Byrne (academic), Principal of King's College London and former Vice-Chancellor of Monash University * Edward Duyker (born 1955), Australian historian * Edward Elgar (1857–1934), English composer * Ed Gamble, Edward Gamble, English comedian * Edward Gibbons, English musician * Edward Gorey, American illustrator * Edd Gould, Edward Gould (1988-2012), English animator and creator of Eddsworld * Edward Grimes, one of the two members of Irish pop duo Jedward * Edward Hopper (1882–1967), American realist painter * Edward Jayakody (born 1952), Sri Lankan Sinhala musician and composer * Edward Killy, American filmmaker * Edward Daniel Leahy, Irish painter * Edward MacDowell (1860–1908), American composer and pianist * Edward Norton (born 1969), American actor * Edward Platt, (1916-1974), American actor * Edward G. Robinson, (1893-1973), Romanian-American actor * Eddie Redmayne, Edward John David "Eddie" Redmayne (born 1982), English actor * Edward Said (1935–2003), Palestinian-American academic * Ed Sheeran, English singer-songwriter and musician * Edward van de Vendel, Dutch author of children's literature * Eddie Van Halen, Edward "Eddie" Van Halen (1955-2020), Dutch-American musician * Eddie Vedder, American singer, musician, songwriter * Edward W. Hardy (born 1992), American composer, musician, and producer

Sports

* Edward Scott Bozek (1950–2022), American Olympic épée fencer * Edward Fatu (1973–2009), American professional wrestler better known as Umaga (wrestler), Umaga, member of Anoa'i family * Ed Gainey (Canadian football), American player of Canadian football * Eddie Guerrero (1967–2005), American professional wrestler * Ed Hochuli (born 1950), NFL official * Ed Hodgkiss (born 1970), American football coach * Edward Lawrence Levy, English world champion weightlifter * Ed Mieszkowski (1925–2004), American football player * Ed Orgeron (born 1961), American football coach * Edward Pratt, British long-distance unicyclist * Edward Weitz (born 1946), Israeli Olympic weightlifter

Other people

* Ed White (astronaut), Edward H. White II (1930–1967) American astronaut * Edward Allaway (born 1939), American mass murderer who perpetrated the 1976 California State University, Fullerton, massacre * Rohan Amerasekera, Edward Rohan Amerasekera (1916–1974), first indigenous Commander of the Sri Lanka Air Force * Edward Harold Bell (1939–2019), American sex offender and murderer * Edward and Elaine Brown, Edward Brown (born 1942), American involved in a tax dispute with the U.S. government * Edward Douglas (bishop) (1901–1967), Scottish Roman Catholic * Edward Edwards (disambiguation), several people * Edward F. Fritsch (born 1950), American scientist * Ed Gein, Edward "Ed" Gein (1906–1984), American murderer and suspected serial killer * Edward Lagrone (1957–2004), American serial killer and rapist * Edward Kmiec (1936–2020), American Catholic bishop * Edward Baker Lincoln (1846–1850), second son of Abraham Lincoln * Edward Mosberg (1926-2022), Polish-American Holocaust survivor, educator, and philanthropist * Edward Playfair, British businessman * Edward Porta (born 1954), Argentinian former textile trader * Edward Snowden (born 1983), American who disclosed National Security Agency secrets * Ed Smith (disambiguation), Edward Smith (disambiguation), several people

People surnamed Edward

* John Edward, professional name of John Edward McGee, Jr. (born 1969), American self-proclaimed psychic * Trevelyan Edward (1938–1995), Sri Lankan cricketer

Fictional characters

* ''Ed, Edd n Eddy'', television show, as well as main characters thereof * List of characters in Camp Lazlo#Edward, Edward, fictional platypus from ''Camp Lazlo'' * List of Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn characters#Dawn Brigade, Edward, in ''Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn'' * List of Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter characters#Other humans, Edward AKA: DEATH, a main character and assassin from the ''Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter'' series * Winnie the Pooh#First publication, Edward Bear, mock "formal" name for a teddy bear—another name for Winnie-the-Pooh * Edward the Blue Engine, from ''Thomas the Tank Engine and Friends'' * Eddie Brock, a character from Marvel Comics; the best known incarnation of Venom (character), Venom * Edward Bunnigus, in the webcomic Schlock Mercenary#Main characters, ''Schlock Mercenary'' * Edward Cullen, the vampire love-interest in the fantasy/romance novels of Stephenie Meyer's ''Twilight (novel series), Twilight Series'' * Edward Elric, the protagonist in the anime/manga series, ''Fullmetal Alchemist'' * Edward Ferrars, in ''Sense and Sensibility'' by Jane Austen * Edward Gardner, in the 1997 French-American fantasy drama movie ''FairyTale: A True Story#Cast, FairyTale: A True Story'' * Edward 'Ted' Hasting, from British TV series ''Line of Duty'' * Edward Elizabeth Hitler, a character from British TV series ''Bottom'' * Edward Hyde (fictional character), Edward Hyde, the title character's evil alter ego in ''Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde'' by Robert Louis Stevenson * Edward Kenway, Edward James Kenway, a character from the ''Assassin's Creed'' video game franchise, appearing as the protagonist of ''Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag'' * Edward Mars, the shipwrecked marshal in American TV series ''Lost (TV series), Lost'' * Whitebeard (Edward Newgate), Edward "Whitebeard" Newgate, the captain of the Whitebeard Pirates in the ''One Piece'' manga series * Edward Nigma, aka The Riddler, a supervillain from DC Comics * Edward Richtofen, a sociopathic German scientist from ''Call of Duty: World at War''; appears in the Nazi Zombies mode as well as in ''Call of Duty: Black Ops'' and ''Call of Duty: Black Ops II'' * Edward Fairfax Rochester, the love interest of Jane in ''Jane Eyre'' * ''Edward Scissorhands'', title character of the eponymous film * Edward "Stubbs" Stubblefield, the fictional undead from the ''Stubbs the Zombie in Rebel Without a Pulse'' video game * Blackbeard in popular culture, Edward "Blackbeard" Teach, fictionalized versions of the Blackbeard, historical figure of the same name from various media * Edward Wong Hau Pepelu Tivrusky IV, from the anime ''Cowboy Bebop'' * Edward Chris von Muir, "spoony bard" from ''Final Fantasy IV'' * Edward "Ed" Lillywhite Norton, Ed Norton, a character played by Art Carney in American sitcom ''The Honeymooners'' * Mister Ed, the talking horse, from the Mister Ed, television series of the same name * List of Corner Shop Show characters#Recurring characters, Edward the Butler, played by Lachlan Walker in the web-series Corner Shop Show

References

{{given name English-language masculine given names English masculine given names Old English personal names