Neddy
A diminutive form of the masculine name Edward or Edwin.
Name Census estimates that about 9 living Americans carry the first name Neddy. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Neddy today is around 76 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Neddy births was 1948 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Neddy. 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 Neddy is about 76 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Neddys were born before 1960.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Neddy. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
9
~ 1 in 38,083,815 Americans
Peak year
1948
6 babies that year
Average age
76
years old
1948 SSA rank
#3,567
Tracked since 1939
Census
Neddy in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 164 people with the first name Neddy, which placed it at #43,191 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
#43,191
National first-name rank
People counted
164
164 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
53.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Neddy
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Neddy is Hispanic at 53.0%. The next largest groups are White (20.1%) and Black (18.9%). 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 Neddy 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 Neddy at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino53.0% · 87
- White20.1% · 33
- Black or African American18.9% · 31
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.5% · 9
- Two or more races1.8% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 1
Popularity
Neddy: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Neddy from the 1930s through to the 1940s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1940s, with 11 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Neddy 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 Neddy 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 Neddy
The name Neddy is a diminutive form of the English name Edward, which is derived from the Old English words "ead" meaning "rich" or "prosperous" and "weard" meaning "guard" or "protector". It is believed to have originated in the 9th century AD during the Anglo-Saxon period in England.
One of the earliest known references to the name Neddy can be found in the 16th century play "The Merry Wives of Windsor" by William Shakespeare, where a character named Neddy is mentioned. This suggests that the diminutive form was already in use during the Elizabethan era.
In the 17th century, Neddy Seagrave (1624-1703) was an English actor and playwright known for his comedic roles and plays. He was a prominent figure in the Restoration era and is considered one of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Neddy.
During the 18th century, Neddy Bray (1705-1784) was a famous English highwayman and thief who gained notoriety for his daring robberies and escapes. He was eventually captured and executed, but his exploits became the subject of numerous ballads and stories.
In the 19th century, Neddy Bucks (1815-1892) was a British sailor and adventurer who sailed around the world multiple times and documented his travels in several books. He is known for his vivid accounts of life at sea and encounters with various cultures.
Another notable figure from the 19th century was Neddy Noakes (1829-1901), a British circus performer and clown who gained fame for his acrobatic skills and comedic routines. He performed with several renowned circuses and is considered one of the most influential clowns of his time.
While the name Neddy was more common in the past, it has become less frequently used in modern times. However, it remains a unique and distinctive diminutive form with a rich history and connections to various notable individuals from different eras.
People
Neddy + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Neddy as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with N
Other first names starting with N with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Neddy: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Neddy?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 9 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Neddy 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 38,083,815 US residents.
Is Neddy a common name?
We classify Neddy as "Very Rare". It ranks above 25.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 16 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Neddy most popular?
The single biggest year for Neddy was 1948, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Neddy is about 76 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Neddy in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 164 people with the name Neddy, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #43,191 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 Neddy 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 Neddy?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Neddy on both sides of the split. Of the 162 people counted with this name, 80 were male (49.4%) and 82 were female (50.6%). 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 Neddy?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Neddy is Hispanic at 53.0%. The next largest groups are White (20.1%) and Black (18.9%). 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 Neddy most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Neddy in the 2020 Census, accounting for 53.0% (87 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 Neddy in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Neddy a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Neddy 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 Neddy still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Neddy 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 Neddy 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 Neddy?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.