Edith
Right before the twelfth century, the Norman Conquest occurred. William the Conqueror defeated King Harold II, who had a sister named Eadgyo. Eadgyo was coronated as a queen and supported the cult of Edward the Confessor at the time. Not only did Queen Eadgyo survive the Norman Conquest, but her name also continued in usage. As of the twelfth century, Eadgyo became Edith in Modern English.
Edith was one of the few Anglo-Saxon names to survive the Norman Conquest and, thus, the only Anglo-Saxon name to be popular throughout the Middle Ages. It continued to be popular until the 17th century, after which it dropped out of the English top 50. As of 1700, the Middle Ages were long over, so was the name Edith.
Over a century later in 1837, Queen Victoria took the throne. With the Victorian Era began a new fascination for all things medieval. These included medieval names like Edith. It appeared in the English top 100 from 1840 through the 1930s, ranking in the top 10 from the 1880s through the 1910s. These several British Ediths included poet Edith Sitwell, nurse Edith Cavell, author Edith (E.) Nesbitt, and doctor Edith Pechey.
Right before it came back in England, Edith migrated to the newly-independent United States. As of 1800, Edith was given to just 10 girls. That number increased throughout the nineteenth century. By 1880, the first year the Social Security Administration kept name data, Edith was in the top 50. The United States, too, was home to a few famous Ediths. These include former First Ladies Edith Roosevelt and Edith Wilson; author Edith Wharton, and social worker Edith Abbott.
As Edith declined in England once again, it slipped in use in the United States. During the 1940s, Edith was no longer a top 100 hit in either nation. However, while Edith completely fell out of use in England, Edith remained in the top 1000 every year since 1880. Perhaps it never ranked below the 800s. However, this is not to say that Edith is timeless. It is actually not.
In the early 1970s, the TV sitcom "All in the Family" premiered. Frumpy Edith Bunker from the series signaled that the name was out of date. While Edith bounced between the 500s and 600s during the 1980s and 1990s, it declined sharply during the 2000s. It hit its all-time low at the end of that decade. During the time, parents who grew up watching "All in the Family" could only imagine the name on old ladies. Young girls with the name were also ridiculed for having an "old grandma" name. Edith was not an acceptable name for a little girl.
It all changed during the last decade, though. The finale for "All in the Family" occurred in 1979, meaning that parents born in the 1980s are less likely to remember Edith Bunker. Plus, positive pop culture associations for the name arose The PBS historical TV series "Downton Abbey" and the Illumination movie Despicable ME, both of which featured Ediths, premiered in 2010.
As of 2017, Edith was back in the English top 100. In the United States, Edith jumped from the 800s to the top 500 between 2010 and 2020. Edith is popular in Sweden, too.
Today, Edith qualifies, not as a rediscovered classic like Lucy and Alice, but as a vintage charmer beginning to feel acceptable again. It's cute with its long "ee" sound and dainty "ith" ending. Short form "Edie" sounds even cuter. However, it's also serious, having been worn by several historical women. Plus, even though it fails to count as a classic, Edith retains a saintly and regal feel.
STYLES:
SISTERS:
Mavis, Pearl, Winifred, Alma, Florence, Vera, Leona, Emmeline
BROTHERS:
Chester, Otto, Alfred, Linus, Winston, Ira, Jules, Basil
ALTERNATIVES:
Ardith, Dorothea, Enid, Freda, Ida, Lois, Prudence, Theda
What do you think about Edith?
Love it!!
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