Edith

English
"prosperous in war"

Edith Origin and Meaning

The name Edith is a girl's name of English origin meaning "prosperous in war".

Edith was a hugely popular name a hundred years ago that's being revived among stylish parents in Stockholm and London. It's currently beginning to gain traction in the US among those with a taste for old-fashioned names with a soft but strong image.

The name of two American First Ladies, Mrs. Theodore Roosevelt and Mrs. Woodrow Wilson, as well as that of several early English queens, Edith is one of the oldest surviving Anglo-Saxon names. Widely used in nineteenth century novels, Edith was chosen by Louisa May Alcott for the heroine of her first novel The Inheritance, written when she was seventeen.

Edith Wharton makes a fine literary namesake, with other noted bearers including poet Edith Sitwell, iconic Hollywood movie designer Edith Head, and for francophiles, there is the reference to Edith Piaf.

With the rise of so many other E-starting names from Ella to Evelyn, and the adorable short form Edie, we predict that Edith will soon sound more like a cute toddler than a dated granny, especially with the Despicable Me character and the emergence of one of the most interesting characters on Downton Abbey, Lady Edith Crawley.

# 504 in the US

Edith Rank in US Top 1000

# 98 on Nameberry

Edith Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Edith Popularity

Famous People Named Edith

  • Edith of Wessex
    Queen consort of Edward the Confessor of England
  • Edith of Mercia aka Ealdgyth
    Queen consort of Harold Godwinson of England
  • Edith of England aka Eadgyth
    Queen consort of Otto I of Germany
  • Edith Piaf (born Edith Giovanna Gassion)
    French singer
  • Edith Kermit Carow Roosevelt
    U.S. First Lady
  • Edith Bolling Galt Wilson
    U.S. First Lady
  • Edith Minturn "Edie" Sedgwick
    American actress & heiress
  • Edith "Edie" Falco
    American actress
  • Edith Louisa Sitwell
    English poet
  • Edith Blackwell Holden
    English author and illustrator
  • Edith Head
    American costume designer
  • Edith
    birth name of Queen Matilda of Scotland
  • Edith Mary Evans
    English actress
  • Edith Pechey
    one of the first British woman physicians
  • Edith Irene Södergran
    Swedish,Finnish poet
  • Edith Mary Pargeter
    English historical novelist
  • Edith Hirsch Luchins
    Polish,American mathematician
  • Saint Edith Stein aka Teresa Benedicta of the Cross
    German,Jewish,born nun and Holocaust victim
  • Edith the Fair aka Edith Swan
    Neck, wife of King Harold Godwinson of England
  • Edith L. Cavell
    WWII nurse killed for aiding Allied soldiers
  • Edith Frank Holländer
    mother of Jewish diarist Anne Frank
  • Edith "Big Edie" Ewing Bouvier
    American socialite
  • Edith "Little Edie" Bouvier Beale
    American socialite
  • Edith Eleanor Bowman
    Scottish radio DJ
  • Edith Vivian Patricia Upton (b. 2015)
    daughter of actress Cate Blanchett

Edith in Pop Culture

  • Edith Cushing
    from the Guillermo del Toro movie "Crimson Peak"
  • Edith Bunker
    Archie's wife on TV's "All in the Family"
  • Edith Crawley
    character on TV's "Downton Abbey"
  • Edith Finch
    character in the game "What Remains of Edith Finch"
  • Edith
    little girl in animated movie "Despicable Me"
  • Edith Moor
    character in John Galsworthy's Forsyte saga
  • Edith Ann
    character in Lily Tomlin's sketches
  • Edith Shaw Lennox
    from Gaskell's "North & South"
  • Edith Stanley
    from musical "The Pirates of Penzance"
  • Edith Prior
    character in the Divergent trilogy
  • Edith "Edie" Burchill
    from Morton's "The Distant Hours"
  • Edith Vernon
    from G. A. Henty's "St. George for England"
  • Edith Pilchester
    from H.E. Bates' "Darling Buds of May"
  • Edith and the Kingpin
    a song by Joni Mitchell (1975)
  • Miss Edith
    Drusilla's doll in "Buffy the Vampire Slayer"