Ned is a boy name with a classic feel, drawn from real birth records. Below you'll find what Ned means and where it comes from, plus how many babies have been named Ned across the United States, UK, Ireland and New Zealand, how popular Ned has been over the decades, and the year it peaked.
Ned is a boy name of Old English origin meaning “wealthy guardian”. A medieval pet form of Edward or Edmund.
| Country | Births on record |
|---|---|
| United States since 1880 | 17,297 births |
| England & Wales since 1996 | 1,597 births |
| Northern Ireland since 1997 | 13 births |
| Ireland since 1964 | 288 births |
Counts come from official national birth-registration statistics: U.S. Social Security Administration, England & Wales (Office for National Statistics), Scotland (National Records of Scotland), Northern Ireland (NISRA), Ireland (Central Statistics Office) and New Zealand (Dept. of Internal Affairs). Coverage spans differ, so totals aren't directly comparable across countries.
Babies named Ned per year, United States (1880 to 2025). United States peaked in 1939 (319/yr) · England & Wales peaked in 2006 (88/yr) · Ireland peaked in 2018 (28/yr) · Northern Ireland peaked in 2022 (4/yr).
Ned has been a fairly common baby name in the United States. It was most common in 1939, when it ranked #678 nationally (given to 319 babies that year).
Neta · Nat · Neida · Newt · Nada · Neda · Nyda
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