Edmund
About Edmund
The sophisticated Edmund and its nearly-identical French twin Edmond are coming out of mothballs now that Edward, inspired by Twilight, is once again a hot name. In fact, it's already a fairly popular choice on Nameberry and a solid presence on the England and Wales charts, where it's featured in the latter half since the 90s.
Dervied from Old English, Edmund is comprised of the elements ead and mund, meaning "rich, fortune" and "protection" respectively. As such, its meaning can be interpreted as "wealthy or fortunate protector". Regal and strong, Edmund's praises have been sung by Jane Austen ("There is nobleness in the name of Edmund") and John Keats ("Had my name been Edmund, I would have been more fortunate.")
Famous bearers include the English astronomer Edmund Halley, after whom the comet was named, poet Edmund Spenser, great Shakespearean actor Edmund Kean, and New Zealand mountaineer Sir Edmund Hillary. Literary Edmunds appear in King Lear,, Jane Austen's Mansfield Park, Dickens's Little Dorrit, and C.S Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia.
Edmund reached its highest point of popularity in the U.S. in 1914, when it was Number 130 but it hasn't appeared in the charts since 1997, making it an uncommon alternative to the Top 300 Edward. The Edmund spelling was chosen for 175 babies in a recent year, while Edmond was picked for 63.
While Edmund is considerably rarer than other Ed- names then, if popularity does bother you, it is still worth bearing in mind that 1580 boys were called Edward in the US last year, while Edwin, Eduardo and Edgar are all in the Top 500. Edison and Eddie feature in the latter end of the charts and there's the popularity of nicknames Ted, Teddy, and Freddy to consider too, even more so if you happen to be in the UK. Should that put you off? Not necessarily, but it is something to think about if you're seeking rarity.
Eamon is the cheery Irish version.
As of October 2026, Edmund ranked #1082 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #130 in 1914, Nameberry popularity #365.
Editor's take: The name Edmund is a boy's name of English origin meaning "fortunate protector".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #1,089 | 176 | 91.6 |
| 2015 | #1,112 | 173 | 90.3 |
| 2016 | #1,035 | 192 | 101.2 |
| 2017 | #1,157 | 163 | 88.1 |
| 2018 | #1,144 | 168 | 92.5 |
| 2019 | #1,194 | 160 | 89.2 |
| 2020 | #1,417 | 122 | 70.7 |
| 2021 | #1,156 | 173 | 98.9 |
| 2022 | #1,191 | 168 | 96.2 |
| 2023 | #1,098 | 194 | 113.4 |
| 2024 | #1,182 | 175 | 101.6 |
| 2025 | #1,082 | 199 | 116.5 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Edmund.
- Benedict
- Edwin
- Rupert
- Edgar
- Leopold
- Ernest
- Francis
- Alfred
- Eugene
- Clarence
- Frederick
- Phineas
- Hector
- Lawrence
- Claude
- Albert
- Augustine
- Augustus
- Archibald
- Linus
Edmund on lists
Famous Edmunds
- Saint Edmund the Martyr
King of East Anglia
- Edmund I and II
Kings of England
- Edmund Burke
Irish statesman, political theorist, philosopher, author, and orator
- Edmund Spenser
English poet
- Edmund Henry Garrett
American illustrator
- Edmund Sixtus "Ed" Muskie
58th U.S. Secretary of State
- Sir Edmund Percival Hillary
New Zealand mountaineer
- Edmund Gustav Albrecht Husserl
German philosopher
- Edmund Gerald "Jerry" Brown
American politician; 34th and 39th governor of California
- Edmund P. Murray
American novelist and journalist
- Edmund Lenihan
Irish author and storyteller
- Saint Edmund Rich
13th,century Archbishop of Canterbury
- Edmund Gettier
American philosopher
- Edmund John James Reid
English police detective and aeronaut
- Edmund Anscombe
New Zealand architect
- Edmund Goulding
English film director
- Edmund Allenby
English soldier and British Imperial Governor
- Saint Edmund Arrowsmith
one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales
- Saint Edmund Campion
one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales
- Saint Edmund Gennings
one of the Forty Martyrs of England and Wales
- Edmund "Ned" Foley
son of actor Dave Foley
Edmund in pop culture
- Edmund
character in Shakespeare's "King Lear"
- Edmund Pevensie
character in "The Chronicles of Narnia"
- Edmund Blackadder
character on TV's "Blackadder," named after the character in King Lear
- Edmund Bertram
character in Jane Austen's "Mansfield Park"
- Edmond Dantes
main character in Alexandre Dumas' "The Count of Monte Cristo"
- Edmund Tyrone
character in Eugene O'Neill's "Long Day's Journey into Night"
- Edmund Reid
character on TV's "Ripper Street"
- Edmund Fitzgerald
a ship that sank in the Great Lakes
- "Wreck of the Edmund Fizgerald
" song by Gordon Lightfoot
- Edmund
character in G. A. Henty's "The Dragon and the Raven"
- Edmund 'Bunny' Corcoran
character in Donna Tartt's "The Secret History"
- Edmund "Ned" Chicane
beloved character in the second campaign of the podcast "The Adventure Zone"
Variations & nicknames
- OdönHungarian
- EdmonRussian
- EamonnGaelic
- MundoPortuguese
- EdmundoPortuguese
- EdmondDutch
- EdmondoItalian
- EamonIrish
- EdmundsLatvian
- EumannScottish Gaelic
- EamesIrish