Edith
Edith comes from the Anglo-Saxon "Eadgyð," made of "ead" (prosperity, fortune) and "gyð" (war, strife). The name thus means "prosperous in war" or "rich battle." It was a common name among Anglo-Saxon nobility — Saint Edith of Wilton (961-984) was a 10th-century English princess and nun. Edith of Wessex was the queen of Edward the Confessor in the 11th century. Edith was a top-50 American name from 1880 to 1925, then declined steeply. The name nearly fell out of the top 1000 in the 1990s. Then came the vintage revival. Edith re-entered the top 1000 in 2009 and continues to climb. Edith Wharton (1862-1937), the first woman to win the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction (for "The Age of Innocence," 1920), is the name's most important literary bearer. I find Edith has a serious, slightly austere quality. The "Ed" opening is blunt, and the "th" ending gives it weight. But the soft "i" in the middle keeps it from being too harsh. Edith Piaf (1915-1963), the French singer known as "the Little Sparrow," gave the name a passionate, tragic dimension. The name is climbing again as the vintage cycle deepens. Edith is a female name of Anglo-Saxon origin that means "Prosperous in war". Vintage, serious, and quietly artistic. The name sounds literary. Ediths tend to be sharp. US re-entered top 1000 in 2009. Now top 500. Well-known people named Edith include Edith Wharton (author), Edith Piaf (singer), Saint Edith of Wilton, Edith Stein (philosopher, saint). Common variations and related forms of Edith include Edythe (variant spelling), Editha (Latinized), Edie (nickname), Dita (modern short form).