Edward

1003-1066), the penultimate Anglo-Saxon king of England, was canonized in 1161 and remained the patron saint of England until replaced by Saint George.

His shrine in Westminster Abbey is still a pilgrimage site.

The Norman Conquest paradoxically secured the name’s popularity, as subsequent English kings adopted it in tribute: from Edward I “Longshanks” (1272-1307) to Edward VIII, who abdicated in 1936.

In literature, Edward appears throughout English writing, from Shakespeare’s history plays Richard III and Henry VI to Jane Austen’s Edward Ferrars in Sense and Sensibility (1811).

Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series (2005-2008), featuring the vampire Edward Cullen, sparked a brief but notable surge in parents usage during the late 2000s.

Edward has appeared on the U.S. Social Security Administration top 1000 every year since tracking began in 1880, never falling below the top 200 and peaking inside the top 10 during the 1910s and 1920s.

The short forms Ed, Eddie, Ted, Teddy, and Ned all derive from it. The name is equally well established in France (as Édouard), Spain (as Eduardo), Italy (as Edoardo), and Portugal.

Contemporary bearers include actor Edward Norton, British physicist Edward Witten, and Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh, youngest son of Queen Elizabeth II.