How popular is the baby name Edith in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Edith.

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Popularity of the baby name Edith


Posts that mention the name Edith

Popular baby names in Finland, 2015

Flag of Finland
Flag of Finland

According to data from the Population Register Center of Finland (Väestörekisterikeskus), the most popular baby names among Finnish speakers in 2015 were Venla and Leo.

Here are Finland’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2015:

Girl NamesBoy Names
1. Venla, 394 baby girls
2. Sofia, 346
3. Aada, 335
4. Aino, 331
5. Elsa, 326
6. Helmi, 325
7. Emma, 323
8. Eevi, 299
9. Ella, 297
10. Emilia, 262		1. Leo, 408 baby boys
2. Elias, 379
3. Onni, 361
4. Eino, 339
5. Oliver, 330
6. Niilo, 321
7. Väinö, 316
8. Eetu, 313
9. Leevi, 293
10. Daniel, 265

Elsa and Eevi replaced Enni and Amanda in the girls’ top 10

Daniel replaced Aleksi in the boys’ top 10.

Venla, the new #1 girl name, rose from 7th place in 2014.

While about 85% of the babies accounted for were born to Finnish speakers, another 6% were born to Swedish speakers. Here are Finland’s top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names among Swedish speakers specifically:

Girl NamesBoy Names
1. Ellen, 31 baby girls
2. Saga, 29
3. Amanda, 25
4. Elsa, 224
5. Ida, 21
6. Emma, 20
7. Stella, 19
8. Ebba, 17
9. Emilia, 16
10. Edith, 16		1. Emil, 43 baby boys
2. Oliver, 34
3. William, 32
4. Lucas, 28
5. Max, 26
6. Liam, 25
7. Benjamin
8. Noah, 24
9. Casper, 23
10. Axel, 22

Tied with Emilia and Edith were Olivia, Matilda and Minea; tied with Axel was Anton. Saga, the #2 girl name, ranked 4th in Sweden itself last year.

The Finnish Names Act (Nimilaki) allows babies to receive a maximum of three given names. The names must conform to Finnish orthography, reflect the correct gender, and not be “inappropriate” in any way.

Sources: Most popular children’s names – Digital and Population Data Services Agency, Trending baby names in 2015: Venla and Ellen for girls, Leo and Emil for boys, Finnish names still subject to law – how many and what kind

Image: Adapted from Flag of Finland (public domain)

Name change: Edith to Matilda

Matilda (or Maud) of Scotland - Queen of England, Duchess of Normandy
Queen Matilda (also called Maud)

Henry I — one of the sons of William the Conqueror, England’s first Norman king — ruled England from 1100 to 1135.

About two months after Henry was crowned king, he married Eadgyth [Edith], the daughter of Malcolm III of Scotland.

When she was crowned Queen of England, Eadgyth promptly dropped her Anglo-Saxon baptismal name and adopted the Germanic name Matilda (which had also been the name of Henry’s late mother).

From then on, she was known as either Matilda or Maud.

Why the name change?

Because “Matilda” was a name favored by the Normans. As historian Robert Bartlett put it, “A lot of people changed their names [following the Norman Conquest] because they wanted to pass in polite society — they didn’t want to be mistaken for a peasant, marked out with an Anglo-Saxon name.”

In fact, Norman nobles liked to mock the couple by calling them Godric and Godiva, both of which are Anglo-Saxon names. “Godric and Godiva were the Jack and Jill of their period.”

Sources:

Image: Queen Maud (14th cen.)

Baby names from early beauty queens: Garnelle & Edithmae

Beauty queen Garnelle Haley
Garnelle Haley

In 1921, the St. Louis Globe-Democrat newspaper held a beauty contest.

About 7,000 girls from across the U.S. entered the contest by sending in their photographs.

These entrants were split up into 4 “districts” depending on where they were from — the city of St. Louis, the state of Missouri, the state of Illinois, or anywhere else in the United States.

Several dozen finalists were asked to come to St. Louis for in-person judging, and ultimately a first ($1,000), second ($500), and third ($100) place winner was chosen for each district.

I’m not sure who won 1st place in the city of St. Louis, but here are the other three first-place winners:

  • Illinois: Leola Aikman, 18 years old, from Salem, Illinois
  • Missouri: Garnelle Haley, 17 years old, from Moberly, Missouri
  • United States: Edith Mae Patterson, 19 years old, from Pine Bluff, Arkansas

As it turns out, two of these winners had a small influence on U.S. baby names…

Garnelle

Garnelle Haley’s photo was featured on the front page of several Missouri newspapers after her win.

That year, the baby name Garnelle debuted in the U.S. baby name data with 11 baby girls — five born in Missouri specifically.

  • 1923: unlisted
  • 1922: unlisted
  • 1921: 11 baby girls named Garnelle [debut]
  • 1920: unlisted
  • 1919: unlisted

Garnelle never appeared on the list again, but its debut was impressive enough to make Garnelle the top one-hit wonder baby name of 1921.

The name Garnell also debuted on the girls’ list in 1921.

Beauty queen Edith Mae Patterson
Edith Mae Patterson

Edithmae

Edith Mae Patterson wasn’t just a district winner, but also the grand prize winner. Her title was “The Most Beautiful Girl in the United States,” and she received an additional $2,500.

Right on cue, the baby name Edithmae made its debut in the national dataset in 1921:

  • 1924: unlisted
  • 1923: 5 baby girls named Edithmae
  • 1922: unlisted
  • 1921: 5 baby girls named Edithmae [debut]
  • 1920: unlisted

It made the list again in 1923, perhaps because Patterson remained in the public eye for several more years, “cross[ing] the country in the capacity of everything from civic-club speaker to fashion model to aspiring Hollywood actress.” She gave it all up in the mid-1920s, though, after a religious conversion.

Which name do you like more, Garnelle or Edithmae? Why?

P.S. The Miss America competition began the very same year.

Sources:

  • “Egyptian Girl is Handsomest.” Marion Semi-Weekly Leader 30 Sept. 1921: 1.
  • Full Gospel Temple Plant of Renown, Inc. Founder
  • Lindsey, William D. and Mark Silk. Religion and Public Life in the Southern Crossroads: Showdown States. Walnut Creek, CA: Rowman Altamira, 2005.
  • “Miss Garnelle Haley.” Mansfield Mirror 22 Sept. 1921: 1.
  • “A Moberly Girl Wins.” Chariton Courier 23 Sept. 1921: 1.
  • Pennington, Edith Mae. “From the Foot-Lights to the Foot of the Cross.” Latter Rain Evangel Aug. 1931: 16.
  • SSA

Images: Clippings from the Mansfield Mirror (22 Sept. 1921) and the Bridgeport Times (11 Nov. 1921)

Pennsylvania family with 25 children

kinderfest

In late 1899, multiple newspapers ran the story of Mary Swartwood of Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Why? Because she had just welcomed her 25th child.

She was only in her early 40s, but had married her husband (Samuel) at the age of 14 and had welcomed her first baby at the age of 15.

Here are the names and birth years of all 25 Swartwood kids:

  1. Walter, 1872
  2. Louis, 1873
  3. Thaddeus, 1875
  4. Maud, 1876
  5. Cora, 1877
  6. Blanche, 1878
  7. Mabel, 1879
  8. Herbert, 1880
  9. Warren, 1881
  10. Elsie, 1882
  11. Samuel, 1884
  12. Daniel, 1885
  13. Ruth, 1886
  14. Alonzo, 1889 (twin)
  15. Gertrude, 1889 (twin)
  16. Elmer, 1890
  17. Calvin, 1891
  18. Florence, 1892
  19. Esther, 1893 (twin)
  20. Benjamin, 1893 (twin)
  21. Earl, 1895
  22. Jessie, 1896
  23. Edith, 1897
  24. Lottie, 1898
  25. Arthur, 1899

Out of the 25 names on the list, which girl name and which boy name do you like best?

Source: “25 Children in 27 Years.” Hartford Weekly Times 26 Oct. 1899: 6.

Image: Ein Kinderfest (1868) by Ludwig Knaus