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 [ 2 syll. ed-gar, edg-ar ] The boy name Edgar is pronounced as EHDGer KEY. Edgar is largely used in the English, French, and German languages, and its origin is Old English. The name is of the meaning wealthy spear, owner of many spears. Two-element name derived from the elements 'ead' meaning wealth, blessed ; 'gar' meaning spear. Eadgar (Old English) is an original form of Edgar. The name was used among medieval English speakers in its current form. It was borne by the 10th-century king Edgar the Peaceful (-975) and the 11th-century prince Edgar Atheling (1060-1125). The name survived the Norman Conquest but it soon lost favor in the Middle Ages, save for its appearance as the name of the virtuous brother in Shakespeare's tragedy King Lear (1603-1606), as the play is set in an earlier English period. It saw a revival in the early 19th century, promoted by the appearance of a character bearing the name in Sir Walter Scott's novel The Bride of Lammermoor (1819) and by the fictional Edgar Linton in Emily Brontë's novel Wuthering Heights (1847). In the USA, one of the earliest American novelists Charles Brockden Brown published his novel Edgar Huntly (1799) and made the name well-known among Americans. The name Edgarda (Italian) is the female equivalent of Edgar. Edek (Polish), Edgard (French, Hungarian, Russian, and Romanian), Edgardo (Italian and Spanish), Edgaro (Italian), Edgars (Latvian), Edko (Czech), Edus (Czech), Garek (Polish and English), and Otger (German) are variants of Edgar. Other variants of Edgar include the short forms Ed (English), Ned (English), and Ted (English), and the pet forms Eddie (English), Eddy (English), Neddie (English), Neddy (English), Teddie (English), and Teddy (English). See also the related form, Adair (English and Scottish). Edgar is a classic favorite. Currently it is still popular as a baby name for boys, though it was in more widespread use in the past. Its usage peaked modestly in 1901 with 0.234% of baby boys being given the name Edgar. Its ranking then was #71. The baby name has since experienced a loss in popularity, and in recent years it is of occasional use. In 2008, its usage was only 0.095% and its ranking #193, but it was nonetheless the most popular among all boy names in its group. In 2008, Edgar was thrice as popular as the subsequent ranked name, Eddie (English). A baby name that sounds like Edgar is the name Edgaro (Italian). Details of famous persons named Edgar: KEY: Pronunciation for Edgar: EH as in "Ed (EH.D)" ; D as in "dee (D.IY)" ; G as in "green (G.R.IY.N)" ; ER as in "hurt (HH.ER.T)"   |
