Edith

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 13 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Edith is also recorded as 7 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• English given name1.8M records spelled Edith34 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Germany, United Kingdom, Netherlands

  Languages: English, German, Danish

  Also written Édith, Èdith, Ëdïth, Êdith, Edìth

• a separate given name50K records spelled Edith2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Zambia

  Also written Édith

• Czech given name44K records spelled Edith106 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Czechia, Philippines, United States, Russia

  Languages: Czech, Spanish, Russian

  Also written Edita, Editha, Эдита, Эдит, Едіт

• Finnish given name26K records spelled Edith5 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Finland, Hungary, United States, Estonia

  Languages: Finnish, Hungarian, Estonian

  Also written Édith

• Lao given name5.5K records spelled Edith20 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Laos, United States, Thailand, Peru

  Languages: Lao, Thai

  Also written อุดที, อีดิท, อุดทิ, อุดิท, อุดท

• French (Côte d’Ivoire) given name4.7K records spelled Edith2 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Côte d’Ivoire

  Also written Édith

• Greek given name3.0K records spelled Edith3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Greece, United States, United Kingdom, Peru

  Also written Édith, Εντιθ

80 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Edith is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In French, Old English, from ēad ‘wealth’ + gȳð ‘battle’

  as a name·Le grand guide des prénoms (Enfant - Education)

• In English, from the Old English feminine name Edith; first attested Ralph filius Edihe 1188 BuryS (Sf)

  as a name·A Dictionary of English Surnames

• From an Old English female personal name derived from éad ‘prosperity’, ‘riches’ + gyd ‘strife’. This was borne by a daughter (961-984) of Edgar the Peaceful (she was named in accordance with the common Old English practice of repeating name elements within a family). She spent her short life in a convent, and is regarded as a saint. Pet form: Edie.

  as a name·A concise dictionary of first names

• Anglo-Saxon, ‘happy war’. This name has occasionally been used in Ireland. Editha, probably a variant, occurs in the Wallis family.

  as a name·Irish first names

• In English, A female given name from Old English.

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 146 years between 1880–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Matilda of Scotlandb. 1080GBnot in their usual nameQueen consort of England
• Edith Nesbitb. 1858GBEnglish author and poet (1858–1924)
• Edith Whartonb. 1862USAmerican writer and designer (1862–1937)
• Edith Evansb. 1888GBBritish actress (1888–1976)
• Edith Headb. 1897USAmerican film and television costumer (1897-1981)
• Edith Frank-Holländerb. 1900DEMother of Holocaust diarist Anne Frank (1900–1945)
• Peggy Ashcroftb. 1907GBnot in their usual nameBritish actress (1907-1991)
• Cecilia Rothb. 1956ARnot in their usual nameArgentine actress
• Edie Falcob. 1963USnot in their usual nameAmerican actress
• Camilla Läckbergb. 1974SEnot in their usual nameSwedish crime writer

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 1,534 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Edith?

We estimate roughly 191 thousand people bear Edith (counting its spellings and scripts) across 11 countries in our records.

In which country does Edith have the most bearers?

Edith is most frequently recorded in Argentina, where it is most often spelled edith.

How common is Edith compared with other names?

In Argentina, Edith is the 149th most common given name of 517,176 given names recorded there.

Is Edith a male or female name?

Edith is a female name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Edith mean?

Recorded meaning: Anglo-Saxon name meaning ‘happy war’; occasionally used in Ireland.