Edward is an English masculine name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon name Ēadweard, composed of the elements ēad "wealth, fortune; prosperity" and weard "guardian, protector”.
History
The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Saxon England, but the rule of the Norman and Plantagenet dynasties had effectively ended its use amongst the upper classes. The popularity of the name was revived when Henry III named his firstborn son, the future Edward I, as part of his efforts to promote a cult around Edward the Confessor, for whom Henry had a deep admiration.
Variant forms
The name has been adopted in the Iberian peninsula since the 15th century, due to Edward, King of Portugal, whose mother was English. The Spanish/Portuguese forms of the name are Eduardo and Duarte. Other variant forms include French Édouard, Italian Edoardo and Odoardo, German, Dutch, Czech and Romanian Eduard and Scandinavian Edvard.
Short forms include Ed, Eddy, Eddie, Ted, Teddy, and Ned.
Medieval
Edward the Elder (c. 874–924), Anglo-Saxon king and son of Alfred the Great
Edward the Martyr (c. 962–978), English king and Christian martyr
Edward the Confessor (c. 1003–1066), English king and patron saint of England until 1348
Edward I (1239–1307), English king, called Longshanks; conqueror of Wales
Edward Balliol (c. 1283–1367), pretender to the Scottish throne during the reign of David II
Edward II (1284–1327), deposed in January 1327, probably murdered
Edward III (1312–1377), English king
Edward the Black Prince (1330–1376), eldest son of King Edward III
Edward, Duke of Guelders (1336–1371)
Edward IV (1442–1483), older brother of Richard III, father of Edward V
Edward V (1470–c. 1483), one of the princes in the Tower
Royalty and nobility
Edward VI (1537–1553), the son of Henry VIII and Jane Seymour
Edward, Count Palatine of Simmern (1625–1663), Count Palatine
Prince Edward, Duke of York and Albany (1739–1767), brother of George III
Lord Edward FitzGerald (1763–1798), Irish aristocrat and revolutionary
Prince Edward, Duke of Kent and Strathearn (1767–1820), the son of George III, father of Queen Victoria
Prince Edward of Saxe-Weimar (1823–1902), son of Prince Bernhard of Saxe-Weimar-Eisenach
Princess Edward of Saxe-Weimar (1827–1904), wife of Prince Edward of Saxe-Weimar
Edward VII of the United Kingdom (1841–1910), the son of Queen Victoria
Lord Edward Cecil (1867–1918), son of the 3rd Marquess of Salisbury
Edward VIII of the United Kingdom (1894–1972), the son of George V, abdicated
Prince Edward, Duke of Kent (born 1935), grandson of George V
Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh (born 1964), the son of Queen Elizabeth II
Lady Edward Manners (born 1975), wife of Lord Edward Manners and daughter-in-law of the 10th Duke of Rutland
Edward Windsor, Lord Downpatrick (born 1988), the grandson of The Duke of Kent
Politicians
Edward D. Baker (1811–1861), American politician, lawyer, and military leader, close friend of Abraham Lincoln
Edward Butcher, American politician
W. Edward Crockett, American politician from Maine
Edward Dembowski (1822–1846), Polish leftist, philosopher and columnist
Edward J. Freel, American politician
Edward Gierek (1913–2001), First Secretary of Polish United Workers Party from 1970 to 1980
Edward Heath (1916–2005), British Conservative politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1970 to 1974
Edward Jayetileke, Chief Justice of Sri Lanka from 1950 to 1952
Edward Stanley Kellogg (1870–1948), 16th Governor of American Samoa, former United States senator
Edward "Ted" M. Kennedy (1932–2009), American politician, lawyer, and senator, Kennedy family member
Edward John Lampron (1909–1983), justice of the New Hampshire Supreme Court
Edward Naylor-Leyland (1890–1952), English aristocrat, diplomat and public official
Edward M. Kennedy Jr. (born 1961), American politician and lawyer, son of Ted Kennedy
Edward C. McFetridge (1836–1914), American politician
Ed Miliband (born 1969), British politician, former leader of the Labour Party
Edward Joy Morris (1815–1881), U.S. Congressman from Pennsylvania
Ed Murray (born 1955), Democratic politician and former Mayor of Seattle
Edward Nothnagle (1866–1938), Pennsylvania State Representative
Edward Alexander Nugawela (1898–1972), Sri Lankan Sinhala politician and army major
Edward Polewarczyk, American politician
Edward "Ed" Ra, American politician
Edward L. Romero, entrepreneur and American diplomat who served as the U.S. Ambassador to Spain and Andorra between 1998 and 2001
Edward Stettinius Jr. (1900–1949), United States Secretary of State
Edward L. Stokes (1880–1964), U.S. Congressman from Pennsylvania
Edward Maria Wingfield (1550–1631), English colonist and soldier
Edward Youde (1924–1986), 26th Governor of Hong Kong
Edward Baranoski
Edward Barker (1950–1997), English cartoonist who signed his drawings simply as Edward
Edward Balcerzan (born 1937), Polish critic, writer, and translator
Edward Blishen (1920–1996), English author
Ed Byrne (neuroscientist) (born 1952), British neuroscientist and university administrator
Edward Duyker (born 1955), Australian historian
Edward Elgar (1857–1934), English composer
Edward Jay Epstein, American journalist and political scientist
Edward "Little Buster" Forehand (1942–2006), American soul and blues musician
Edward Gamble (born 1986), English comedian
Edward Gibbons, English choirmaster and composer
Edward Gorey (1925–2000), American illustrator
Edward Gould (1988–2012), English animator and creator of Eddsworld
Edvard Grieg (1842–1907), Norwegian classical music composer
Edward Grimes, one of the two members of Irish pop duo Jedward
Edward Grochowicz (1939–2014), Polish photographer
Edward Thomas Hardy, English actor, better known as Tom Hardy
Edward W. Hardy (born 1992), American composer, musician, and producer
Edward Hopper (1882–1967), American realist painter
Edward Jayakody (born 1952), Sri Lankan Sinhala musician and composer
Edward Killy, American filmmaker
Edward Daniel Leahy, Irish painter
Edward Linden (1935–2023), known as Eddie Linden, Scottish poet and magazine editor
Edward MacDowell (1860–1908), American composer and pianist
Edward Maya, Romanian singer, record producer and DJ
Edward McClanahan (1932–2021), American professor
Edward Coppée Mitchell (1836–1886), American lawyer and educator
Edvard Munch (1863–1944), Norwegian painter
Edward Norton (born 1969), American actor
Edward Platt (1916–1974), American actor
Eddie Redmayne (born 1982), English actor
Edward Ayearst Reeves (1862–1945), British geographer
Edward G. Robinson, (1893–1973), Romanian-American actor
Edward Said (1935–2003), Palestinian-American academic
Edward Sene (born 2000), Finnish artist
Ed Sheeran, English singer-songwriter and musician
Ed Speleers, English actor
Edward van de Vendel, Dutch author of children's literature
Edward "Eddie" Van Halen (1955–2020), Dutch-American musician
Eddie Vedder, American singer, musician, songwriter
Edward Teller (1908–2003), Hungarian-American physicist and chemical engineer
Sports
Eddie Alvarez (born 1984), American mixed martial artist
Edward Bozek (1950–2022), American Olympic épée fencer
Edward Bushnell (1876–1951), American Olympic track and field athlete
Edward Fatu (1973–2009), American professional wrestler better known as Umaga, member of Anoaʻi family
Ed Gainey (Canadian football), American player of Canadian football
Eddie Guerrero (1967–2005), American professional wrestler
Ed Hochuli (born 1950), American football official
Ed Hodgkiss (born 1970), American football coach
Edward Lawrence Levy, English world champion weightlifter
Edward Meron (born 1938), Arab-Israeli Olympic weightlifter
Ed Mieszkowski (1925–2004), American football player
Ed Orgeron (born 1961), American football coach
Edward Pratt, British long-distance unicyclist
Edward J. Trembly (1860–1937), American baseball player
Edward Weitz (born 1946), Israeli Olympic…