Edgar

Old English Eadgar, joining ead, wealth or good fortune, with gar, a spear. A tenth-century English king bore it, and Shakespeare used it in King Lear.

Edgar in 2025

Edgar was given to 617 babies in the United States in 2025, making it the 986th most popular name of the year. That is roughly one in every 5,373 babies born.

The history of Edgar

Edgar reached its highest point in 2005, when 2,459 babies were given the name, ranking 301st that year. Its best-ever ranking was 127th, in 1881.

Across the 146 years of records since 1880, 157,919 babies have been named Edgar. Half of them were born before 1970, which places the name's centre of gravity with Generation X.

Edgar by decade

DecadeBabies named EdgarBest rank
1880s3,011127
1890s2,992180
1900s3,154228
1910s14,157190
1920s18,159215
1930s11,937261
1940s9,810352
1950s8,639451
1960s6,531631
1970s6,865559
1980s11,730292
1990s22,356278
2000s22,615301
2010s11,628411
2020s4,335801

Where Edgar is heading

Edgar has fallen 45% over the past decade, from 1,114 babies in 2015 to 617 in 2025.

Names like Edgar

Names that rose and fell at the same time as Edgar.

Browse the most popular baby names