Edyth
Rich and prosperous, a name of Old English origin.
Name Census estimates that about 432 living Americans carry the first name Edyth. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Edyth today is around 57 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Edyth births was 1918 (76 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Edyth. 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
432
~ 1 in 793,413 Americans
Peak year
1918
76 babies that year
Average age
57
years old
2022 SSA rank
#12,596
Tracked since 1880
Popularity
Edyth: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Edyth from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 14 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 540 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
Edyth 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 Edyth during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Edyths live
The SSA's state-level files cover 16 states and territories. New York, Texas, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Edyth, while Wisconsin, Washington, Missouri recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 17 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Edyth
The name Edyth is an English variant of the Germanic name Edith, which is derived from the Old English words "ead" meaning "prosperous" or "blessed" and "gyth" meaning "war" or "battle." It can be interpreted to mean "prosperous in war" or "blessed in battle."
The name Edith has its roots in the Anglo-Saxon period, and it was a popular name among the English aristocracy during the Middle Ages. One of the earliest documented examples of the name can be found in the Domesday Book, a detailed survey of landholdings in England commissioned by William the Conqueror in 1086.
In the late 12th century, the name gained popularity due to its association with St. Edith of Wilton, a Saxon princess who lived in the 10th century and was known for her piety and charitable works. Her life was chronicled in several medieval manuscripts, and her cult following helped spread the name throughout England.
Edith was also the name of several prominent historical figures, including Edith of Wessex (c. 961-1015), the wife of King Edward the Confessor, and Edith Plantagenet (1025-1075), the wife of King Henry I of England. These royal associations further contributed to the name's prestige and widespread use.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the spelling variant "Edyth" can be found in the writings of Geoffrey Chaucer, the famous 14th-century English poet and author. In his work "The Canterbury Tales," Chaucer mentions a character named "Edyth the wife of Bathe."
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals named Edyth or Edith, including:
1. Edith Stein (1891-1942), a German-Jewish philosopher and Catholic convert who became a Carmelite nun and was canonized as a martyr and saint.
2. Edyth Bullock (1865-1928), an American painter and educator known for her portraits and landscapes.
3. Edith Wharton (1862-1937), a Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist and short story writer, known for works like "The Age of Innocence" and "Ethan Frome."
4. Edyth Muñoz (1924-2015), a renowned Cuban-American artist and painter, known for her vibrant and colorful works depicting scenes from her native Cuba.
5. Edith Roosevelt (1861-1948), the wife of President Theodore Roosevelt and a prominent figure in her own right, advocating for various social causes and serving as the first First Lady to employ a full-time social secretary.
While the name Edyth is not as commonly used today as it once was, it remains a beautiful and historically significant name with deep roots in English and Germanic culture.
People
Edyth + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Edyth 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
Edyth: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Edyth?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 432 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Edyth 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 793,413 US residents.
Is Edyth a common name?
We classify Edyth as "Very Rare". It ranks above 83.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,278 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Edyth most popular?
The single biggest year for Edyth was 1918, when 76 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Edyth is about 57 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Edyth a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Edyth 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.
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.