Edwards
A masculine name of English origin derived from an Old English surname meaning "wealthy guard".
Name Census estimates that about 228 living Americans carry the first name Edwards. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Edwards today is around 46 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Edwards births was 1923 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Edwards. 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.
People living today
228
~ 1 in 1,503,309 Americans
Peak year
1923
13 babies that year
Average age
46
years old
2024 SSA rank
#9,204
Tracked since 1912
Census
Edwards in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 674 people with the first name Edwards, which placed it at #16,648 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
#16,648
National first-name rank
People counted
674
674 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
44.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Edwards
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Edwards is White at 44.4%. The next largest groups are Black (28.6%) and Hispanic (20.2%). 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 Edwards 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 Edwards at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White44.4% · 299
- Black or African American28.6% · 193
- Hispanic or Latino20.2% · 136
- Two or more races3.4% · 23
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.7% · 18
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7% · 5
Popularity
Edwards: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Edwards from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 71 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
Edwards 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 Edwards during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Edwards
Edwards is an English given name derived from the Old English words "ead" meaning prosperous or rich, and "weard" meaning guard or protector. The name can be traced back to the Anglo-Saxon period in England, around the 5th to 11th centuries AD.
The name gained popularity during the Middle Ages, appearing in various historical records and chronicles. One of the earliest recorded examples is Edward the Confessor, who was the King of England from 1042 to 1066 AD. He was known for his piety and religious devotion, and was later canonized as a saint by the Catholic Church.
Another notable figure was Edward I, also known as Edward Longshanks, who reigned as King of England from 1272 to 1307. He is remembered for his military campaigns in Wales and Scotland, as well as for his legal and administrative reforms.
In the 14th century, Edward III, who ruled from 1327 to 1377, is considered one of the most successful English monarchs. He is renowned for his victories in the Hundred Years' War against France, and for establishing the Order of the Garter, one of the oldest and most prestigious orders of chivalry.
Moving forward, Edward IV, who reigned from 1461 to 1483, played a significant role in the Wars of the Roses, a series of civil wars between the House of Lancaster and the House of York. He is credited with establishing the House of York on the English throne.
Lastly, Edward VI, who ruled from 1547 to 1553 at the young age of nine, is remembered for his efforts to establish Protestantism as the dominant religion in England during the Protestant Reformation.
While the name Edwards has its roots in Old English and has been associated with numerous historical figures, it has also been adopted and used in various cultures and languages around the world, reflecting its enduring popularity and versatility.
People
Edwards + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Edwards 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
Edwards: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Edwards?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 228 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Edwards 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 1,503,309 US residents.
Is Edwards a common name?
We classify Edwards as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 418 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Edwards most popular?
The single biggest year for Edwards was 1923, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Edwards 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 Edwards in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 674 people with the name Edwards, or 0.22 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #16,648 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 Edwards 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 Edwards?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Edwards leans strongly male. 577 people counted with this name were male (85.9%), compared with 95 female bearers (14.1%). 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 Edwards?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Edwards is White at 44.4%. The next largest groups are Black (28.6%) and Hispanic (20.2%). 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 Edwards most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Edwards in the 2020 Census, accounting for 44.4% (299 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 Edwards in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Edwards a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Edwards in the SSA data are male. 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 Edwards still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Edwards 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 Edwards 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 have Edwards as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.