Edye
Feminine variation of the name Edward, meaning "prosperous guardian".
Name Census estimates that about 140 living Americans carry the first name Edye. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Edye today is around 61 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Edye births was 1959 (24 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Edye. 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.
People living today
140
~ 1 in 2,448,245 Americans
Peak year
1959
24 babies that year
Average age
61
years old
1999 SSA rank
#13,163
Tracked since 1956
Census
Edye in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 260 people with the first name Edye, which placed it at #32,383 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
#32,383
National first-name rank
People counted
260
260 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
78.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Edye
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Edye is White at 78.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.8%) and Black (8.1%). 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 Edye 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 Edye at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White78.8% · 205
- Hispanic or Latino8.8% · 23
- Black or African American8.1% · 21
- Two or more races2.3% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 2
Popularity
Edye: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Edye from the 1950s through to the 1990s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 91 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Edye 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 Edye during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Edye
The name Edye originated from the Old English language, tracing its roots back to the 8th century. It is derived from the Germanic word "ead," meaning "prosperity" or "fortune," and was often given to children as a symbolic wish for a prosperous life.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Edye can be found in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, a historical record dating back to the 9th century. The chronicle mentions an individual named Edye, who was a member of the royal court during the reign of King Alfred the Great.
In the Middle Ages, the name Edye gained popularity among the noble classes of England. During this time, it was often associated with individuals of high social standing and wealth. One notable figure was Edye de Warenne, a Norman noblewoman who lived in the 11th century and was known for her influential role in the court of William the Conqueror.
The name Edye also had religious connections, particularly in the Christian tradition. In the 13th century, there was a Saint Edye, a Benedictine nun who was renowned for her piety and charitable works. Her feast day was celebrated on June 18th, further popularizing the name among devout Christian families.
Throughout history, several prominent individuals have borne the name Edye. One such figure was Edye Plantagenet (1265-1334), a member of the English royal family and the daughter of King Henry III. Another notable Edye was Edye Seymour (1518-1568), a member of the influential Seymour family and a close confidante of King Henry VIII.
In the literary world, the name Edye was immortalized by the English poet John Milton, who featured a character named Edye in his epic poem "Paradise Lost," published in 1667. This association with such a renowned literary work further contributed to the name's enduring legacy.
Other notable individuals with the name Edye include Edye Lamb (1705-1768), an English philosopher and writer who was a close friend of Samuel Johnson, and Edye Nightingale (1820-1910), a British social reformer and pioneer of modern nursing practices.
While the name Edye has experienced fluctuations in popularity over the centuries, it remains a timeless and evocative choice, carrying with it a rich historical tapestry and a symbolic association with prosperity and good fortune.
People
Edye + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Edye 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
Edye: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Edye?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 140 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Edye 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 2,448,245 US residents.
Is Edye a common name?
We classify Edye as "Very Rare". It ranks above 69.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 173 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Edye most popular?
The single biggest year for Edye was 1959, when 24 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Edye is about 61 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Edye in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 260 people with the name Edye, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #32,383 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 Edye 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 Edye?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Edye leans strongly female. 260 people counted with this name were female (97.4%), compared with 7 male bearers (2.6%). 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 Edye?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Edye is White at 78.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (8.8%) and Black (8.1%). 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 Edye most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Edye in the 2020 Census, accounting for 78.8% (205 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 Edye in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Edye a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Edye in the SSA data are female. 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 Edye still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Edye 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 Edye 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 common is the name Edye?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the name Edye at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.