Eda
Of Turkish origin, it means "adorned" or "beautiful ornament".
Name Census estimates that about 1,240 living Americans carry the first name Eda. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Eda today is around 46 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Eda births was 1916 (100 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Eda. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Eda with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
1.2K
~ 1 in 276,415 Americans
Peak year
1916
100 babies that year
Average age
46
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,984
Tracked since 1880
Census
Eda in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,626 people with the first name Eda, which placed it at #6,171 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#6,171
National first-name rank
People counted
2.6K
2,626 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.9
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
53.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Eda
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Eda is White at 53.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (30.1%) and Black (7.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Eda described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Eda at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White53.4% · 1,402
- Hispanic or Latino30.1% · 790
- Black or African American7.3% · 193
- Asian and Pacific Islander6.7% · 175
- Two or more races1.6% · 43
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 23
Popularity
Eda: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Eda from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 706 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Eda by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Eda during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Edas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 16 states and territories. New York, California, Pennsylvania recorded the most babies named Eda, while Tennessee, Nebraska, Montana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 49 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Eda
The name Eda is a feminine given name with its origins traced back to various cultures and languages. It is believed to have emerged from the Old Norse word "audr," which means "wealth" or "prosperity." This name was commonly used among the Norse people, particularly in Scandinavia, during the Viking Age and the Middle Ages.
In addition to its Norse roots, the name Eda is also found in Turkish and Hungarian cultures. In Turkish, it is derived from the word "edep," which translates to "politeness" or "good manners." Meanwhile, in Hungarian, the name is a variant of the name "Edith," which has its origins in the Old English word "ead," meaning "rich" or "blessed."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Eda can be found in the Icelandic Sagas, a collection of historical narratives written in the 13th and 14th centuries. These sagas often featured characters with the name Eda, reflecting its popularity among the Norse people during that time period.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Eda. One of the earliest examples is Eda of Merania (c. 1170-1237), a Duchess of Bavaria and the wife of Duke Otto VII. Another prominent figure was Eda Lehan (1859-1946), a Norwegian author and women's rights activist known for her work in promoting education and social reforms.
In the realm of science, Eda Bertin (1894-1978) was a French mathematician and pioneer in the field of data visualization. Her groundbreaking work on graphical representations of data had a significant impact on the field of information design.
The name Eda also gained recognition in the world of art, with Eda Nadelmann (1892-1985), a German-American artist and sculptor, being a notable figure. Her works were displayed in numerous exhibitions and can be found in various museums across the United States.
Another influential figure was Eda Kriseová (1909-1976), a Czech writer and translator known for her contributions to children's literature. Her books, which often explored themes of friendship, courage, and the natural world, were widely popular and have been translated into multiple languages.
While the name Eda has its roots in ancient cultures and has been carried by notable individuals throughout history, it continues to be a name that resonates with its meanings of wealth, prosperity, and good manners across different societies.
People
Eda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Eda as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with E
Other first names starting with E with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Eda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Eda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,240 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Eda going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 276,415 US residents.
Is Eda a common name?
We classify Eda as "Rare". It ranks above 91.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 4,185 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Eda most popular?
The single biggest year for Eda was 1916, when 100 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Eda is about 46 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Eda in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,626 people with the name Eda, or 0.87 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,171 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Eda in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Eda?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Eda appears almost entirely female. Of the 2,625 people counted with this name, 99.3% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Eda?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Eda is White at 53.4%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (30.1%) and Black (7.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Eda most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Eda in the 2020 Census, accounting for 53.4% (1,402 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Eda in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Eda a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Eda in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Eda still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Eda in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Eda can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people share the name Eda?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.