Find out how popular the first name Edgar has been for the last 50 years (from 1974 to 2023) and learn more about the meaning and history.

Popularity of Edgar by gender

Based on the last 50 years of data, Edgar is more commonly used as a male name, with approximately 100% of people named Edgar being male.

For the most recent data in 2023, there were 714 male babies and 0 female babies born with the name Edgar.

The history of the first name Edgar

The name Edgar has its origins in the Anglo-Saxon culture of England, dating back to the 7th century. It is derived from the Old English words "ead," meaning wealth or prosperity, and "gar," meaning spear. The name's literal translation is "rich spear" or "prosperous spear-man."

One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Edgar comes from the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, which mentions an Edgar who ruled as King of England from 959 to 975 AD. This king, known as Edgar the Peaceful, was praised for restoring monastic life in England and uniting the kingdoms of Mercia and Northumbria under his rule.

The name Edgar also appears in various literary works throughout history. In the 12th century, the medieval poet Layamon mentioned an Edgar in his Brut, a chronicle of British history. Additionally, the name is found in Shakespeare's play, King Lear, where Edgar is the legitimate son of the Earl of Gloucester.

Among the notable historical figures named Edgar, one can mention Edgar Atheling (c. 1051 – c. 1126), the last male member of the Anglo-Saxon royal family and a claimant to the English throne after the Norman Conquest. Another famous Edgar was Edgar Allan Poe (1809 – 1849), the renowned American writer and poet known for his works of mystery and the macabre.

Other notable individuals with the name Edgar include Edgar Degas (1834 – 1917), the French artist famous for his paintings and sculptures depicting scenes from modern life, and Edgar Rice Burroughs (1875 – 1950), the American author best known for creating the iconic character Tarzan and the sci-fi hero John Carter.

In the realm of science, Edgar Douglas Adrian (1889 – 1977) was a British physiologist who received the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1932 for his work on the function of neurons.

Data source

The first name data used on this page comes from the Social Security Administration (SSA). They've been collecting data on baby names since 1880.

The history and meaning of the name Edgar was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Edgar, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!