Edd
Diminutive of Edward, derived from Old English meaning "prosperous guardian".
Name Census estimates that about 1,104 living Americans carry the first name Edd. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Edd today is around 74 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Edd births was 1919 (169 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Edd. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Edd is about 74 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Edds were born before 1962.
People living today
1.1K
~ 1 in 310,466 Americans
Peak year
1919
169 babies that year
Average age
74
years old
2006 SSA rank
#3,761
Tracked since 1880
Census
Edd in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,288 people with the first name Edd, which placed it at #10,389 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#10,389
National first-name rank
People counted
1.3K
1,288 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
66.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Edd
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Edd is White at 66.0%. The next largest groups are Black (20.0%) and Hispanic (8.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Edd described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Edd at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White66.0% · 850
- Black or African American20.0% · 258
- Hispanic or Latino8.2% · 106
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.6% · 47
- Two or more races1.5% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 8
Gender
Gender distribution for Edd
Out of the 5,450 babies given the name Edd since 1880, 99.8% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Edd as a male name
- Ranked #12,565 in 2006
- 5 male births in 2006
- Peak: 1919 (163 births)
Edd as a female name
- Ranked #3,761 in 1930
- 7 female births in 1930
- Peak: 1930 (7 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Edd appears almost entirely male. Of the 1,283 people counted with this name, 99.3% were male and only a very small share were female.
Popularity
Edd: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Edd from the 1880s through to the 2000s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 1,034 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Edd by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Edd during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Edds live
The SSA's state-level files cover 14 states and territories. Tennessee, Texas, Alabama recorded the most babies named Edd, while California, Florida, Virginia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 174 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Edd
The given name Edd has its origins in the English language, emerging as a diminutive or shortened form of the name Edward. Edward itself derives from the Old English words "ead" meaning "prosperous" or "rich," and "weard" meaning "guard" or "protector." Thus, the name Edd indirectly carries the connotation of a prosperous or wealthy guardian.
In the early Middle Ages, the name Edward was popular among the Anglo-Saxon nobility and royalty. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Edd appears in the Domesday Book, a record of landowners commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086. It lists an "Edd the Smith" as a landowner in the county of Essex.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Edd. One of the earliest was Edd the Fowler (c. 850 - c. 912), an Anglo-Saxon nobleman who served as the Earl of Mercia during the reign of King Alfred the Great. Another prominent figure was Edd the Outlaw (c. 1330 - c. 1400), a legendary English folk hero known for his daring exploits and defiance of authority.
In the literary realm, Edd Philpotts (1863 - 1937) was a British novelist and poet, best known for his novels set in the Devonshire countryside. Additionally, Edd Murrow (1908 - 1965), an American journalist and broadcaster, gained fame for his courageous reporting during World War II and his pioneering work in television news.
The name Edd has also been associated with the world of sports. Edd Ricketts (1897 - 1948) was an American marine biologist and philosopher, who served as a mentor to the writer John Steinbeck. In more recent times, Edd Boks (1936 - 2022) was a renowned American basketball player and coach, known for his contributions to the game both on and off the court.
While these are just a few examples, the name Edd has a rich history spanning various disciplines and eras, reflecting its enduring appeal and the diverse individuals who have carried this name throughout time.
People
Edd + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Edd as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with E
Other first names starting with E with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Edd: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Edd?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,104 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Edd going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 310,466 US residents.
Is Edd a common name?
We classify Edd as "Rare". It ranks above 90.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5,450 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Edd most popular?
The single biggest year for Edd was 1919, when 169 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Edd is about 74 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Edd in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,288 people with the name Edd, or 0.43 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #10,389 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Edd in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Edd?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Edd appears almost entirely male. Of the 1,283 people counted with this name, 99.3% were male and only a very small share were female. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Edd?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Edd is White at 66.0%. The next largest groups are Black (20.0%) and Hispanic (8.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Edd most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Edd in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.0% (850 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Edd in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Edd a male name?
Yes, 99.8% of people registered as Edd in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Edd still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Edd in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Edd can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have the name Edd?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Edd on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.