Ned
About Ned
Ned is a gently old-fashioned Nancy Drew-Bobbsey Twins-era short form for Edward that sounds cooler than Ed and is enjoying a small style renaissance.
Usage of Ned in literature goes back to a Ben Johnson character in 1614, and it is also the name of the protagonist in James Fenimore Cooper's Ned Myers. In Australia, Ned Kelly is famous as a larger-than-life legendary outlaw figure. In this country, Ned Rorem is a respected modern composer.
There was a 1990s sitcom called Ned and Stacey, and other Neds have appeared in The Simpsons (neighbor Flanders), Groundhog Day and School of Rock. Ned Stark is a prominent, and unusually heroic, character in Game of Thrones, giving the name some new cultural cache, though we can't recommend using his proper name, Eddard.
Pronounced NED.
As of October 2026, Ned ranked #9452 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #240 in 1890, Nameberry popularity #729.
Editor's take: The name Ned is a boy's name of English origin meaning "wealthy guardian".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2015 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2016 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2017 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2018 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2019 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2020 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2023 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | — | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | — | 0 | 0 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Ned.
- Bertie
- Herbert
- Elmer
- Walt
- Homer
- Humphrey
- Abe
- Clifford
- Guy
- Earl
- Norman
- Milton
- Barney
- Clem
- Phinneas
- Morris
- Gene
- Clive
- Fritz
- Hal
Ned on lists
Famous Neds
- Ned Rorem
American composer
- Ned Payne Austin
American actor
- Edward "Ned" Kelly
Australian bushranger and folk hero
- Edward Hugh "Ned" Hanlon
American basebal player
- Ned Rocknroll (born Abel Smith)
nephew of Richard Branson, husband of actress Kate Winslet
- Edgar Frederick "Ned" Yost III
American baseball player and manager
- Ned Washington
American lyricist
- Ned Thomas Beatty
American actor
- Ned Jarrett
American NASCAR driver
- Ned Eisenberg
American actor
- Ned Fulmer
American actor and director for Buzzfeed
- Ned Hepburn
American writer and blogger
- Edward Miner "Ned" Lamont
American businessman and politician
- Nusyn "Ned" Glass
Polish,American actor
- Ned Bellamy
American actor
- Edmund "Ned" Foley
son of actor Dave Foley
Ned in pop culture
- Nedward "Ned" Flanders
character on TV's "The Simpsons"
- Eddard "Ned" Stark
character in the Game of Thrones series
- Ned Ryerson
character in movie "Groundhog Day"
- Ned Dorsey
main character on TV's "Ned & Stacey"
- Ned the Pie Maker
main character on TV's "Pushing Daisies"
- Ned Bigby
character on TV's "Ned's Declassified School Survival Guide"
- Ned Nickerson
boyfriend in the Nancy Drew series
- Ned
character on TV's "The Tribe"
- Ned Dorneget
character on TV's "NCIS"
- Ned Gerblansky
character in the television series South Park
- Ned Land
character in book/film "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea"
- Ned Nederlander
one of the "Three Amigos"
- Ned Plimpton
character in the film The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou
- Ned Quartermaine
character on American soap "General Hospital"
- Ned Ryder
character in Evelyn Waugh's "Brideshead Revisited"
- Ned Schneebly
character in the 2003 film School of Rock
- Nedwin "Ned
" character in the book series "Beyonders: A World Without Heroes"
- Ned Banks
character on TV's "Ghost Whisperer"
- Ned Parker
character on Australian soap "Neighbours"
- Edward "Ned" Leeds
character in the movie "Spider,Man: Homecoming"
- Ned Henry
main character of Connie Willis's novel "To Say Nothing of the Dog"
- "Ned's Newt
" Canadian animated series
- "The Misfortune of Being Ned
" animated web series
- "Waking Ned Devine
" 1998 Irish film
- Ned
Scottish derogatory term for hooligans, louts or criminals