Edna

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Girl · Hebrew

Edna

Say it: ED-nuh

Try it with your surname

Meaning

From the Book of Tobit, apparently Hebrew 'pleasure'; in Ireland also used for Eithne.

Likelythe main view, with some doubt.

Very popular in America from the 1880s to the 1910s.

Its wave through time

Fading since the 1890s

In the United States

295,626 babies given this name since 1880
At its height in 1899, about 1 in 92 girls
87 babies in 2020

Through the ages

Used by

American English Irish

The family of the name

Hebrew	Edna

Famous bearers

Edna St. Vincent Millay, American poet

Names worth a look

LeeGirl or boyFrom an English surname, Old English leah 'woodland clearing, meadow'.Victorian · peak 1882

PeggyGirlPet form of Margaret, through Meg and Maggie; Margaret is from Greek 'pearl'.Revolutions · peak 1937 · forgotten

ClaraGirlLatin clara 'clear, bright, famous'.Middle Ages · peak 1890

EthelGirlA 19th-century English short form of names beginning with Old English æthel 'noble', such as Etheldreda and Ethelburga.Victorian · peak 1896

NormaGirlPopularised by Bellini's opera Norma (1831), whose heroine's name may be from Latin norma 'rule'; the librettist's…Victorian · peak 1931

JessieGirl or boyFor girls, a Scottish pet form of Janet or Jean (from Hebrew Yohanan 'God is gracious'), later of Jessica; for boys,…Victorian · peak 1890

EdenGirl or boyFrom the biblical Garden of Eden. Hebrew eden is often glossed 'delight', but many scholars connect the place name…Modern · peak 2020

ÉtienneBoyFrom Greek stephanos 'crown, wreath'.Middle Ages · peak 1902

Where this comes from

The Apocrypha and other early religious writings
National census records of the 19th and 20th centuries
United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source
United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source

Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.

Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.