The

surname In some cultures, a surname, family name, or last name is the portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family, tribe or community. Practices vary by culture. The family name may be placed at either the start of a person's full name ...

Eddy is used by descendants of a number of English, Irish and Scottish families.

Etymology

Frank R. Holmes, in his ''Directory of the Ancestral Heads of New England Families, 1600-1700'', proposes two possible origins; the

Gaelic Gaelic is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". As a noun it refers to the group of languages spoken by the Gaels, or to any one of the languages individually. Gaelic languages are spoken in Ireland, Scotland, the Isle of Man, and Ca ...

, "instructor", or from the

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

''ed'' and ''ea'', "backwards" and "water", a whirlpool or

eddy Eddie or Eddy may refer to: Science and technology *Eddy (fluid dynamics), the swirling of a fluid and the reverse current created when the fluid flows past an obstacle * Eddie (text editor), a text editor originally for BeOS and now ported to Lin ...

, making the surname Eddy a place-name. Another possible origin is the Saxon root ''ead'', "success" or "prosperity". ''Ead'' occurs in numerous commonly used names, as Edgar, Edmund, Edward, Edwin, and the outdated Edwy. John Eddy of Taunton spells the name Eddway in the earliest record so far found. Eddy could also be a diminutive of any one of these names. Robert Ferguson, in his work on ''English Surnames'', believes that Eddy is a place-name: “Eday, Eady, Eddy are from ead, prosperity. Hence the name of the rock Eddiston, on which the celebrated light house is built. From this word are compounded a great number of

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- ...

names of which we have Edward, Edmund, Edgar, Edw Edwin.”

Early history

One of the first mentions that is close to the form of Eddy, is the name of the priest Eddi or Edde,

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

ized into

Eddius Stephen of Ripon was the author of the eighth-century hagiographic text ''Vita Sancti Wilfrithi'' ("Life of Saint Wilfrid"). Other names once traditionally attributed to him are Eddius Stephanus or Æddi Stephanus, but these names are no longer p ...

. He went to

Northumbria la, Regnum Northanhymbrorum , conventional_long_name = Kingdom of Northumbria , common_name = Northumbria , status = State , status_text = Unified Anglian kingdom (before 876)North: Anglian kingdom (af ...

from

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour, Kent, River Stour. ...

with Bishop

Wilfrid Wilfrid ( – 709 or 710) was an English bishop and saint. Born a Northumbrian noble, he entered religious life as a teenager and studied at Lindisfarne, at Canterbury, in Francia, and at Rome; he returned to Northumbria in about 660, and ...

(or Wilfrith) in 669, and later took the name Stephanus. He taught the Roman method of chanting, and in 709 he was in the monastery of

Ripon Ripon () is a cathedral city in the Borough of Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England. The city is located at the confluence of two tributaries of the River Ure, the Laver and Skell. Historically part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the city ...

, where he wrote a life of Wilfrid in Latin. In the ''

Domesday Book Domesday Book () – the Middle English spelling of "Doomsday Book" – is a manuscript record of the "Great Survey" of much of England and parts of Wales completed in 1086 by order of King William I, known as William the Conqueror. The manusc ...

'', the name Eddeu is used in a description of Little Abington, Cambridgeshire, and during the time of Edward the First there were a number of people named Ede, Edde, and Edwy on the tax collection rolls of Worcestershire. There is a record in

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

, of a William Edy, Gentleman, in 1486. Edie, Eddy, Eddye, Edshune and Edye are found in numerous records in Gloucestershire from 1545 onward. At

Woodbridge, Suffolk Woodbridge is a port and market town in the East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England. It is up the River Deben from the sea. It lies north-east of Ipswich and forms part of the wider Ipswich built-up area. The town is close to some major a ...

, Eyde is found as a surname between 1599 and 1610. Starting from 1570 in the records of many parishes of the Archdeaconry Court of

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

, the following surnames are found: Edy, Eady, Eedy, Ede, Edye, Eddey, and Eddy. In

Bristol Bristol () is a city, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Gloucestershire to the north and Somerset to the south. Bristol is the most populous city in ...

, the town where William Eddye, the Vicar, was born, a number of wills from the late 16th century have the surname of Eddie, Eddye or Eddy. Ade, Adie, Addy, Eadie are common Scottish surnames. These may be forms of the name “

Adam Adam; el, Ἀδάμ, Adám; la, Adam is the name given in Genesis 1-5 to the first human. Beyond its use as the name of the first man, ''adam'' is also used in the Bible as a pronoun, individually as "a human" and in a collective sense as " ...

”. David Eadie of Moneaght, Scotland, was granted a coat of arms in 1672.

The surname in North America

In North America, the largest family group who bears the Eddy surname are descended from two brothers, John and Samuel, who immigrated to America on October 29, 1630 on a ship called ''Handmaid''. Their father, William Eddye, was the Vicar of the church in Cranbrook, England, from 1586–1616 and was born in

in the mid-16th century. Other Northern American "patriarchs" are John Eddy who lived in

Taunton, Massachusetts Taunton is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Bristol County. Taunton is situated on the Taunton River which winds its way through the city on its way to Mount ...

in the late 17th century; John Eddy of

Woodbridge, New Jersey Woodbridge Township is a township in Middlesex County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township is both a regional hub for Central New Jersey and a major bedroom suburb of New York City in the New York metropolitan area located within the ...

, (Scottish) who immigrated in the early 18th century; James Eddy, born in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

, Ireland, around 1712, and immigrated in 1753; Thomas Eddy, immigrated in the late 18th century to

Fort Ann, New York Fort Ann is a town in Washington County, New York, United States. It is part of the Glens Falls Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town population was 6,417 at the 2000 census. The town contains a village, also called Fort Ann, located in its ...

, from Ireland; brothers William and John Eddy, immigrated from Ireland to New York city in the mid 19th century; and William Dave Eddy, who came to the United States from Cornwall, England, in 1887. There is a currently large family of Eddys in Cornwall.

Notable persons

* Alan Eddy (1926–2017), English biochemist * Allison Eddy, Canadian nephrologist * Arthur Jerome Eddy (1859–1920), American lawyer, author, art collector, and art critic * Barry Eddy (born 1952), Australian rules footballer * Bill Eddy (fl. 1970s–2010s), American statistician * Brett Eddy (born 1989), Australian rules footballer *

C. M. Eddy Jr. Clifford Martin Eddy Jr. (C. M. Eddy Jr.; January 18, 1896 – November 21, 1967)Fenham Publishing/ref> was an American writer known for his horror, mystery and supernatural short stories. He is best remembered for his work in ''Weird Tales'' m ...

(1896–1967), American short story writer * Cecil Ernest Eddy (1900–1956), Australian radiologist and physicist * Charles B. Eddy (active on 1880s), American cattle rancher, namesake for

Eddy County, New Mexico Eddy County is a county located in the U.S. state of New Mexico. As of the 2010 census, the population was 53,829. Its county seat and largest city is Carlsbad. The county was created in 1891 and later organized in 1892. It is north of the Tex ...

* Chris Eddy (born 1969), American Major League Baseball pitcher *

Chuck Eddy Chuck Eddy (born November 26, 1960) is an American music journalist. Life and career Chuck Eddy was born in Detroit, Michigan. After starting his journalism career with ''The Village Voice'' and ''Creem'', where he published one of the first nat ...

(born 1960), American music journalist *

Clarence Eddy Hiram Clarence Eddy (23 June 1851 - 10 January 1937) was a United States organist and composer Biography He was born in Greenfield, Massachusetts. He studied under Dudley Buck in Hartford, Connecticut, counterpoint under Carl August Haupt, and p ...

(1851-1937), American organist and composer *

Cullen Eddy Cullen Eddy (born November 18, 1988) is an American former professional ice hockey defenseman who played in the American Hockey League (AHL) and the British Elite Ice Hockey League (EIHL). Playing career On August 3, 2011, it was announced that E ...

(born 1988), American professional ice hockey defenseman * Daniel C. Eddy (1823–1896), American clergyman, hymn writer, politician, and author *

David M. Eddy David M. Eddy is an American physician, mathematician, and healthcare analyst who has done seminal work in mathematical modeling of diseases, clinical practice guidelines, and evidence-based medicine. Four highlights of his career have been sum ...

(active since 1971), American physician, mathematician, and healthcare analyst * Deborah Eddy (fl. 1990s–2010s), member of the Washington House of Representatives * Dolph Eddy (1918–1989), Australian politician *

Don Eddy Don Eddy (born 1944) is a contemporary representational painter.Martin, Alvin. "Spaces of the Mind: New paintings by Don Eddy," ''Arts'', February 1987, p. 22–3.Baker, Kenneth"Don Eddy,"''Artforum'', March 1972. Retrieved March 4, 2021. He ga ...

(1935–2017), American basketball coach *

(1946–2018), Major League Baseball pitcher *

Duane Eddy Duane Eddy (born April 26, 1938) is an American rock and roll guitarist. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, he had a string of hit records produced by Lee Hazlewood, which were noted for their characteristically "twangy" sound, including "Rebel- ...

(born 1938), American guitarist *

Eddy Brothers The Eddy Brothers were William and Horatio Eddy, two American mediums best known in the 1870s for their alleged psychic powers. Magicians and skeptics dismissed the Eddy brothers "spirit" materializations as blatant frauds. Biography The brother ...

, two American mediums best known in the 1870s, who claimed psychic powers * Edward D. Eddy (1921–1998), American educator and college administrator * Elizabeth Eddy (born 1991), American soccer midfielder *

Ezra Butler Eddy Ezra Butler Eddy (August 22, 1827 – February 10, 1906) was a Canadian businessman and political figure. Born in Vermont, Eddy moved to Canada and founded the E. B. Eddy Company, which produced matches, and related wood products, and later ...

(1827–1906), Canadian businessman and political figure * FannyAnn Eddy (1974–2004), murdered lesbian human rights defender from Sierra Leone *

Frank Eddy Frank Marion Eddy (April 1, 1856 – January 13, 1929) was a United States representative from Minnesota's 7th congressional district. Eddy was born in Pleasant Grove Township, Minnesota before moving to Iowa in 1860 with his family. They ...

(1856–1929), American politician from Minnesota * Gary Eddy (born 1945), Australian sprinter in the 1964 Summer Olympics * George A. Eddy (1907–1998), American economist *

Helen Jerome Eddy Helen Jerome Eddy (February 25, 1897 – January 27, 1990) was a motion picture actress from New York City. She was noted as a character actress who played genteel heroines in films such as ''Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm'' (1917). Early years Edd ...

(1897–1990), American motion picture actress * Henry Turner Eddy (1844–1921), American science and engineering educator * Ian C. Eddy (1906–1976), decorated American submarine commander during World War II * James R. Eddy (born 1931), politician in the American state of Florida * James Wade Eddy (1832–1916), American businessman, founder of Arizona Mineral Belt Railroad * Jamie Eddy (born 1972), Canadian ice sledge hockey player * Jerome Eddy (1829–1905), American businessman and politician from Michigan *

Jim Eddy James Franklin Eddy (May 2, 1936 – October 27, 2016) was an American football coach in the National Football League (NFL) and Canadian Football League (CFL). He played college football at New Mexico State University. Early years Eddy attended ...

(1936–2016), American football coach * John Eddy (1915–1981), British sailor * John A. Eddy (1931–2009), American astronomer *

Jonathan Eddy Jonathan Eddy (–1804) was a British-American soldier, who fought for the British in the French and Indian War and for the Americans in the American Revolution. After the French and Indian War, he settled in Nova Scotia as a New England Planter, ...

(c. 1726–1804), British-American soldier * Kate Eddy (born 1996), Australian netball player *

Keith Eddy Keith Eddy (23 October 1944 – 10 October 2022) was an English professional footballer who played as a midfielder for Barrow, Watford and Sheffield United in England, as well as the New York Cosmos in the United States. He went on to manage th ...

(born 1944), English retired footballer *

Lori Eddy Lori Christine Eddy (born August 26, 1971, in Lunenburg, Nova Scotia) is a Canadian curling, curler from Dundas, Ontario. Career Eddy played third (curling), third on the Alison Goring rink that represented Ontario at the 1997 Scott Tournament o ...

(born 1971), Canadian curler * Manton S. Eddy (1892–1962), American general *

Mary Baker Eddy Mary Baker Eddy (July 16, 1821 – December 3, 1910) was an American religious leader and author who founded The Church of Christ, Scientist, in New England in 1879. She also founded ''The Christian Science Monitor'', a Pulitzer Prize-winning s ...

(1821–1910), the American founder of the Church of Christ, Scientist church * Mary Pierson Eddy (1864–1923), religious and medical missionary *

Mike Eddy Michael Eddy (born July 17, 1952 in Midland, Michigan) is a stock car auto racer. He is most notable for racing in the now defunct American Speed Association (ASA). He was a seven time ASA National Champion, which is the most in ASA history. ...

(born 1952), American stock car auto racer *

Nelson Eddy Nelson Ackerman Eddy (June 29, 1901 – March 6, 1967) was an American actor and baritone singer who appeared in 19 musical films during the 1930s and 1940s, as well as in opera and on the concert stage, radio, television, and in nightclub ...

(1901–1967), American singer *

Nick Eddy Nicholas Matthew Eddy (born August 23, 1944) is a former American football player. He was raised in Tracy, California. A broad-shouldered 6 feet, 195 lbs, he attended the University of Notre Dame on a football scholarship. Eddy was a stand ...

(born 1944), American pro football player *

Norman Eddy Norman S. Eddy (December 10, 1810 – January 28, 1872) was an American politician and military officer. Early life Norman S. Eddy was born on December 10, 1810, in Scipio, New York. He attended common schools. He graduated from Cazenovia Semina ...

(1810–1872), American politician and military officer *

Paul L. Eddy Paul L. Eddy (August 27, 1899 – January 14, 1979) was an American politician and businessman. Eddy was born on a farm in Victor Township, Wright County, Minnesota, Victor Township five miles southeast from Howard Lake, Minnesota, Howard Lake ...

(1899-1979), American farmer, businessman, and politician * Ray Eddy (1911–1986), American college basketball coach * Richard Eddy (clergyman) (1828–1906), American Universalist clergyman * Richard Eddy (politician) (1882–1955), New Zealand labourer, trade unionist and member of the New Zealand Legislative Council *

Robert Eddy Robert Eddy (born 7 January 1988) is an Australian rules footballer, currently playing for Woodville-West Torrens Football Club in the South Australian National Football League. He previously played for in the Australian Football League (AFL) ...

(born 1988), Australian rules footballer * Roger Eddy (born 1946), Canadian former luger * Roger L. Eddy (born 1958), member of the Illinois House of Representatives * Ronald Eddy (born c. 1931), Canadian politician *

Samuel Eddy Samuel Eddy (March 31, 1769February 3, 1839) was a U.S. Representative from Rhode Island. Born Johnston in the Colony of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, Eddy completed preparatory studies. He graduated from Brown University in 178 ...

(1769–1839), U.S. Representative from Rhode Island * Samuel E. Eddy (1822–1909), American soldier who fought in the American Civil War *

Sara Hershey-Eddy Sara Hershey-Eddy (née Sarah Hershey; 1837 – 8 July 1911) was an American musician, pianist, contralto vocalist, vocal instructor, and musical educator. She founded the Hershey School of Musical Art in Chicago. Early years and education Of ...

(née Sarah Hershey; 1837–1911), American musician * Sarah J. Eddy (1851–1945), American artist, photographer and suffragette * Sarah Stoddard Eddy (1831-1904), American social reformer and clubwoman *

Sean Eddy Sean Roberts Eddy is Professor of Molecular & Cellular Biology and of Applied Mathematics at Harvard University. Previously he was based at the Janelia Research Campus from 2006 to 2015 in Virginia. His research interests are in bioinformatics, ...

(born circa 1966), bioinformatician *

Shelia Eddy Shelia may refer to: * Shelia Burrell (born 1972), retired American heptathlete * Shelia Conover (born 1963), American sprint canoeist * Shelia Eddy (born 1995), American convicted of murder *Shelia Goss (born 1968), American author, freelance writ ...

(born 1996), American convicted of murder *

Sherwood Eddy George Sherwood Eddy (1871–1963) was a leading American Protestant missionary, administrator and educator. He was a prolific author and indefatigable traveler. His main achievement was to link and finance networks of intellectuals across the glo ...

(1871–1963), American Protestant missionary, administrator and educator *

Sonya Eddy Sonya Eddy (June 17, 1967 – December 19, 2022) was an American actress. Early life and education Eddy was born in Concord, California, on June 17, 1967. She majored in theatre and dance at University of California, Davis and received her B.A. ...

(1967-2022), American actress * Spencer F. Eddy (1873–1939), American diplomat who served as U.S. Minister to Argentina and Romania * Steve Eddy (born 1957), American baseball pitcher * T. V. Eddy (1853–1918), American politician in the state of Washington *

Thomas Eddy Thomas Eddy (September 5, 1758 Philadelphia, Pennsylvania - September 16, 1827 New York City) was an American merchant, banker, philanthropist and politician from New York. Early life He was the son of Irish Quaker immigrants who had come to Ame ...

(1758–1827), New York merchant, philanthropist and politician * Thomas Mears Eddy (1823–1874), American clergyman and author * Victor Eddy (born 1955), West Indies cricketer * William A. Eddy (1896–1962), American academic and intelligence officer *

William Abner Eddy William Abner Eddy (January 28, 1850 – December 26, 1909) was an American accountant and journalist famous for his photographic and meteorological experiments with kites. The scientific significance of Eddy's improvements to kite-flying was sh ...

(1850–1909), American accountant and journalist famous for his experiments with kites * William C. Eddy (1902–1989), American naval officer, submariner, engineer, television producer, educator, cartoonist, artist, inventor, entrepreneur, explorer, writer * William F. Eddy (1852–1930), Canadian political figure from Saskatchewan

References

External links