Edward

Edward is an English given name. It is derived from the Anglo-Saxon form ÉᚪᛞǷᛠᚱᛞ (in Anglo-Saxon runic alphabet) or Éadƿeard (in Latin alphabet), composed of the elements ead "wealth, fortune; prosperous" and ƿeard "guardian, protector".

The term ƿeard is of Indo-European origin, appearing in Latin «vereor», Greek «οὖρος» (oûros).

The name Edward was very popular in Anglo-Saxon England, but the rule of the Norman and Plantagenet dynasties had effectively ended its use amongst the upper classes.[1] The popularity of the name was revived when Henry III named his firstborn son, the future Edward I, as part of his efforts to promote a cult around Edward the Confessor, for whom Henry had a deep admiration.[2]

The name has been adopted in the Iberian peninsula since the 15th century, due to Edward, King of Portugal, whose mother was English. The Spanish/Portuguese forms of the name are Eduardo and Duarte. Other variant forms include French Édouard, Italian Edoardo and Odoardo, German, Dutch, Czech and Romanian Eduard and Scandinavian Edvard.

Short forms include Ed, Eddy, Eddie, Ted, Teddy and Ned.