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Edna Name Meaning, Origins & History

Edna

Pronunciation: ED-nuh

Meaning Pleasure, enjoyment Origin Hebrew Gender Girl
GIRLS RANK
#2,463
TREND
409
Peak Years
1918, 1916, 1917
Lowest Years
2025, 2017, 2015
Energy Archetype
Versatile & Freedom-Loving

Rank shows the name’s position among U.S. baby names for each gender in 2025. Trend shows how many places it rose or fell since 2024. Rank 1 is the most popular. Based on U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA) data. Peak and lowest years are based on the number of girls named Edna in the available records.

Fun Facts About the Name Edna

  • Decades of popularity: Edna stayed in the U.S. top 100 for 63 consecutive years, from 1880 through 1942.
  • More than 296 thousand babies named Edna: U.S. records list 296,136 babies given the name Edna from 1880 through 2025. Even 1,042 boys received the name Edna - about 1 boy for every 283 girls.

What Does the Name Edna Mean?

Edna is a feminine name. Its Hebrew source is the noun ʿednah (עֶדְנָה), meaning "pleasure" or "delight." The word appears in Genesis 18:12, but not as a personal name there. In the Book of Tobit, Edna is the wife of Raguel and mother of Sarah; through that book the Hebrew word became established as a woman's name in Christian traditions.

In Ireland, Edna has also been used as an English form of the older Irish name Eithne. Eithne's etymology is uncertain; it is often connected with Old Irish eithne, "kernel" or "grain," but that derivation is not settled. This Irish route into the name is separate from the Hebrew one.

Edna Name History & Origins

In Christian Europe, Edna is known mainly through the Book of Tobit, a Jewish work that survives in Greek and other ancient versions and is included in the Catholic and Orthodox Old Testaments and in the Apocrypha of Protestant Bibles. In the Greek text the name appears as Edna; Latin versions preserve the same form. Because Tobit was widely read in Christian Europe, Edna became familiar as a biblical name.

By the 19th century, Edna was in use in Britain and North America. In Ireland it also served as an English form of Eithne. The American poet Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892 - 1950) is a notable bearer, and Kate Chopin used the name for the protagonist of The Awakening (1899). These literary uses did not create the name, but they show its established place in English-speaking culture.

How Popular is the Name Edna?

Edna remained among the top 100 girl names in the U.S. from 1880 to 1942. Its highest annual birth count was in 1918, and people born that year turn 108 in 2026.

U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.

Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.

Explore Name Lists Featuring Edna

Carl appears in several baby name collections based on U.S. popularity records, naming trends, and name characteristics. Explore these lists to discover other names with similar histories, styles, or features.

Longtime Favorite Girl Names

Longtime Favorite Girl Names Through the Years

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How the Name Edna Shapes Your Personality and Life?

You are fine when in harmony but changeable when in discord, because many of your best qualities are then reversed. You are entertaining but may be impulsive. Freedom is a necessity, and you find it difficult to settle down. Your versatility results in many changes, and often brings travel. Your fine intellect is capable of high honors if applied seriously. You are capable of inspired thinking applied to material things. You can be restless, changeable, and very sexy. You have an eventful, exciting life. You are versatile and have the ability to learn easily.

You find the best contentment in life when you own your own home and provide well for your family and loved ones. You have a great sense of responsibility and duty. You are comforting, appreciative and affectionate. Your obligation in life is to hold justice and truth, and if you follow the Law, you can find the great happiness and satisfaction.

✦ Edna's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Edna's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.
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