Name of the Week: Edith

 

Origin:

Since the 12th century, Edith has been the standard English form of the Old English name Ēadgӯð, composed of the elements ēad "riches, prosperity, happiness, bliss" and gyð "war, battle, fight." Edith has also sometimes been conflated with, and used to render, two similar Anglo-Saxon names: Ēaldgӯð (eald "old, ancient" + gyð) and Ēadgifu (ēad + gifu "gift"), as we can see with Ealdgyð (b.c.992), wife of King Edmund Ironside, who is known in Modern English as "Edith" and Edith Swan-Neck (1025-1086), famous beauty and hand-fasted wife of Harold Godwinson who is sometimes recorded with the name Ēadgifu Swanneshals.*  Though these three names were distinct Anglo-Saxon names, the later spellings in the 12th century could often be confused.*

Usage:

Ēadgӯð was a fairly common Anglo-Saxon name and well attested among royalty. One of the most famous is St Edith of Wilton (d.984), daughter of King Edgar the Peaceable and St Wulfthrith. She became a nun like her mother and was known her "her learning, her beauty, and her sanctity."* She was regarded as a saint shortly after her death.  At the time of the Norman Conquest, two notable Ediths were making their mark: Edith Swan-Neck (or Edith the Fair) (1025–1086) was the hand-fasted wife of King Harold II (the fateful short-reigning English king who was defeated by William the Conqueror) who was widely regarded as a great beauty. Legend has it that it was she who identified Harold's body on the field of Hastings.  Edith of Wessex (1025–1075), was the previous queen-consort as the wife of Edward the Confessor (she was also the sister of Harold II), and — unusually for the time — she was crowned.* She is one of the few women to be depicted on the Bayeux Tapestry and managed to survive the conquest without the protection of her husband and brother by cleverly promoting the cult of Edward the Confessor. As Rowena Willard-Wright points out, "this was a shrewd move, as the Doomsday book reveals that she was one of very few English landowners to keep all of their lands, most English nobility having been killed or sent into exile."* Like Queen Edith herself, the name Edith survived the Norman conquest, unlike the majority of Anglo-Saxon names. In George Redmonds' survey of 1000 names from ten English counties 1377-81, Edith — ranked at #15 — is the only Anglo-Saxon feminine name in the top 50. Similarly, for boys, only Edward and Edmund rank. It is significant that these were all prominent royal figures who were regarded as saints and widely venerated in the Anglo-Norman period, accounting for the names' survival. Overall, 21 English churches were dedicated to St Edith in England.* Matilda of Scotland (1080-1118), the daughter of King Malcolm III of Scotland and the English princess Saint Margaret, was originally Christened "Edith," but was later known as Matilda during her marriage to King Henry I of England.  From the 12th century, Eda can be found as a hypocoristic and Edekin as a diminutive. These forms, combined with the popularity of Edith itself, led the the creation of many surnames, including Edith, Eday, Edy, Edye, Edkins, Eakin, Ekins, Ead, Eade, Eades and Edes. However, Reaney and Wilson attribute the similar Eadie, Eady and Eadey to Ēadgifu, demonstrating just how similar the later forms of the names were.* Edith continued through to the 17th century though it gradually began to dwindle in use, as we can see from Smith Bannister's rank of top 50 names from 1538 to 1700 in England: 1538-49: #10; 1550-9: #24; 1560-9: #16; 1570-9: #21; 1580-9: #28; 1590-9: #26; 1600-9: #41; 1610-9: #39; 1620-9: --; 1630-9: #37; 1640-9: #47; 1650-9: --; 1660-9: --; 1670-9: --; 1680-9: --; 1690-1700: #46. During the 18th century, Edith was still in use, but by this time it was very uncommon and does not appear in Dunkling's top 50 rankings for either 1700 or 1800.  Data from The Surname Atlas (click to enlarge) Edith's revival came in the mid-19th century, when Victorian Medievalism was in full swing, and was a top ten name from 1880 to the 1910s, as we can see from its ranks in England and Wales: 1850: #56 1860: #36 1870: #15 1880: #7 1890: #6 1900: #4 1904: #4 1914: #8 1924: #22 1934: #46 1944: *out of top 100* Data from the 1881 census (image, right) shows that the name was especially used in England, particularly in the South East, but was rare in Scotland. It is during this century, also, that Edie came into use as the standard diminutive for Edith.  Lots of intelligent and pioneering women, involved in education and political activism, named Edith hail from the Victorian era: Edith Cavell (1865–1915), was a famous British nurse who, during WWI, treated soldiers on both sides alike indiscriminately and set up escape routes for hundreds of Belgian and allied fugitives, for which she was arrested and and shot by the Germans. She is now venerated as a martyr in the Church of England. Edith Pechey (1845–1908), was one of the first female doctors in Britain as well as a campaigner for women's rights. Edith Abbott (1876–1957), was an American economist and a pioneer in the profession of social work and a leading activist in social reform.  Edith Durham (1863–1944) was British writer and anthropologist who travelled extensively in Balkans, advocating the rights of the Albanian people and working in various relief organisations.  This newspaper poem from 1877 uses Edith as an example of a "fine name" (i.e. one used by the upper classes) being adopted by the working class at this time, and gives an indication of the name's widespread appeal.  click to enlarge What goes up, must come down, however, and by the mid-20th century, Edith began to decline in use, falling out of the top 100 by 1944 and dropping rapidly out of use in the 1950s.  In 1996, Edith ranked #1112 (17 births) in England and Wales and diminutive Edie ranked #1168 (16 births). Both Edith and Edie have gradually risen at the same time and consistently at a similar rank each year.  Both Edith and Edie rose to #578 (51 births) and #595 (49 births) respectively in 2003, which may be in part attributed to the rising fame of radio and television presenter Edith Bowman.  By 2007 (when Bowman was the sole presenter of the highly popular BBC Radio 1 afternoon show), Edith had risen to #291 (162 births) and Edie #300 (156 births).  Rising still further, Edith was given a further boost by the characters of Lady Edith Crawley in ITV historical drama Downton Abbey (2010-2015) and Edith Gru in the films Despicable Me in 2010 and sequel Despicable Me 2 in 2013.  In 2015, Edith ranked #122 with 480 births (an increase from the 456 births in 2014 when it held the same rank) and Edie ranked #150 with 358 births.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Edith of Wilton (961–984), English saint and daughter of King Edgar.  * Edith of Wessex (1025–1075), Queen of England and wife of King Edward the Confessor.  * Edith the Fair/Swan-Neck (1025 – 1086), the hand-fasted wife or mistress of King Harold II of England. * Edith Pechey (1845–1908), British doctor and suffragette. * Edith Nesbit (1858–1924), British children's author and political activist. * Edith Roosevelt (1861–1948), American first lady and wife of Theodore Roosevelt. * Edith Wharton (1862–1937), Pulitzer Prize-winning American writer. * Edith Durham (1863–1944), British writer and anthropologist. * Edith Cavell (1865–1915), British nurse and humanitarian, venerated in the Church of England.  * Edith Hamilton (1867–1963) American classicist and educator. * Edith Wilson (1872–1961), American first lady and wife of Woodrow Wilson. * Edith Abbott (1876–1957), American economist, social worker, educator, and author. * Edith Dimock (1876–1955), American painter. * Dame Edith Evans (1888–1976), British actress.  * Edith Head (1897–1981), American costume designer. * Dame Edith Pitt (1906–1966), British politician. * Édith Piaf (1915–1963), French singer. Contemporary: * Edith "Edie" Sedgwick (1943–1971), American model and actress. * Edith Bowman (born 1974), British television and radio presenter Literature and Other Media: * Lady Edith Crawley, fictional character in the British television series Downton Abbey.  * Edith Gru, fictional character in the film Despicable Me.

Variants:

Edythe (English), Édith (French), Edit (Swedish), Edita (Slavic)

Pronunciation:

EE-dith [key]

Possible  diminutives:

Edie, Didi, Dee, Ditte

Sibling Names:

Clara     Beatrice     Iris     Bonnie     Harriet     Lilian  Felix     Albert     Frederick     Isaac     Reggie     Arthur

Name Lists:

Vintage Names   Royal British Names   Medieval Favourites   Terrifically Tudor   Victorian Darlings  Dickensian Names   Gilbert and Sullivan Names  Tennyson Names

  

If you like Edith you may also like:   Eliza, Audrey, Elsie, Ada, Vera, Olive, Alice, Violet, Betsy, Connie

Thanks to Lisa for requesting this name.