Name of the Week: Edwin

 

 

 

Origin:

Edwin derives from the Old English name Eadwine, composed of the elements ead "'prosperity, riches, fortune, inheritance, property" and wine "friend."  A Nordic cognate of the name – Auðun – was used as a byname for the Viking chief god Odin (who was worshipped as Woden by the Anglo-Saxons).

Usage:

The name Eadwine was a common one in Anglo-Saxon England. The Prosopography of Anglo-Saxon England (PASE) has over fifty pre-11th century examples while the 1066 Domesday entries have a hundred more. The Nordic cognates were also in use in the Danelaw, leading to the Anglo-Scandinavian variants Oðin and Ouðen (Othin) being recorded on the Domesday Book, too.  Notably, Eadwine was not uncommon among royal Saxon families. Edwin of Northumbria (c. 586-633) was King of Deira and Bernicia in the 7th century whose conversion to Christianity led to his being venerated as a saint. Later royals include a son of King Edward the Elder (son of Alfred the Great). This fit a family pattern: his siblings included Æthelstan, Ælfweard, Æthelhild, Eadgifu, Eadflæd, Eadhild, Eadgyth, Ælfgifu, E(a)dmund, Eadred and Eadburh which shows just how prolific Ead-, Ælf- and Æthel- names were amongst Saxon nobility. By 1066, Edwin, Earl of Mercia (d. 1071) and Edwin, Abbott of Westminster* were among the top 20 landowning lords in England according to the Domesday Book. After the Norman Conquest, most of the land formerly belonging to lords named Edwin was in the hands of Norman lords.* This political and social upheaval saw the decline of many Anglo-Saxon names, but Edwin – perhaps because of its prolific and royal use – was one that didn't completely disappear.  The surnames Edwin, Edwing and Edwyn, all of which derive from the given name Edwin, have been in use since the 13th century. Much like Alfred (another Anglo-Saxon royal powerhouse), Edwin was not in enough use to make Smith Bannister's rankings of top 50 names from 1538 to 1700 in England, or Leslie Dunkling's top 50 in either 1700 or 1800. Both however, saw a huge revival in popularity in the 19th century, most likely thanks to the Victorian Gothic Revival which swept the nation.  However, Edwin's lack of prominence from the 15th to 18th century did not mean the name was not still in use in England and, though small in number, we can find plenty of records** for Edwin throughout this period.  click to enlarge By the mid-19th century, Edwin had rocketed in popularity, as birth records in England and Wales (see table below) show. Data from the 1881 census (see image, right) also shows that Edwin's popularity was mostly in England and Wales (especially the south of England), but was not nearly as common in Scotland.  1850: 1860: 1870: 1880: 1890: 1900: #18 #20  #23  #26  #30  #38 click to enlarge In the first half of the 20th century, Edwin remained in the top 100 though it gradually declined over the period – down to #54 in 1924, #74 in 1934 and #89 in 1944, falling out of the top 100 by 1954.  Since 1996, Edwin has ranked (with the exception of 1997) below the top 400. However, over the last two decades, Edwin has been gradually increasing in use.  In 2016, Edwin ranked #493 with 82 births. Regionally, it ranked highest in Yorkshire and the Humber at #355 (11 births), followed by Wales at #391 (5 births).  In Scotland, Edwin has had no more than 6 births in any given year since 1979.  In 2017, Edwin ranked #532 with 5 births in Scotland.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Edwin of Northumbria (c. 586-633), King of Northumbria and Christian saint. * Edwin (died 933), son of King Edward the Elder. * Eadwine of Sussex (died 982), Ealdorman of Sussex. * Eadwine of Abingdon (died 990), Abbot of Abingdon. * Edwin, Earl of Mercia (died 1071), brother-in-law of Harold Godwinson. * Edwin Sandys (1519–1588), Archbishop of York. * Edwin Booth (1833–1893), Shakespearean actor. * Edwin M. Gardner (1845–1935), American painter. * Edwin Alfred Rickards (1872–1920), British architect. * Edwin Hubble (1889–1953), American astronomer for whom the Hubble Telescope is named. * Edwin Howard Armstrong (1890–1954), American inventor. Contemporary: * Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin (born 1930), American astronaut. * Edwin McCain (born 1970), American musician. * Edwin Jackson (born 1983), American baseball player. Literature and Other Media: * Edwin Drood, Main character in The Mystery of Edwin Drood, final unfinished novel of Charles Dickens. * Edwin Jarvis, fictional Marvel Comics supporting character.

Variants:

Edwyn; Edvin (Scandinavian), Etvi (Finnish)

Pronunciation:

ED-win [key]

Possible Diminutives:

Ed, Eddie, Ned, Denny, Win

Sibling Names:

Camilla     Henrietta     Claudia     Sybil     Lavinia      Elspeth  Walter     Francis     Calvin   Sidney     Victor     Otto

Name Lists:

Upright Elegance   Dickensian Names

 

If you like Edwin you may also like:   Richard, Edgar, Winston, Basil, Oswin, Dorian, Reginald, Gwilym, Darwin, Gethin

Thanks to Alex for requesting this name.