This surname is derived from the name of an ancestor. ab-Edward (Welsh). Only found on the borders of the Principality.

Richard ap Edward, of Overton, 1581: Wills at Chester.

Edward ap Edward, of Knolton, 1629: ibid. (1621-1650).

In the 18th century this had assumed the form of Bedward.

John Bedward, 1747: List of Freemen in Chester (in the Byrom Library, Chetham Library, Manchester).

From Bedward to Beddard was an easy and natural step.

1556. Edward ab-Edward, citizen of Oxford: Register of the University of Oxford.

1647. Married — William Bedward and Mary Hayward: St. James, Clerkenwell.

1753. — Edward Beddard and Mary Pritchard: St. George's Chapel, Mayfair.

The name Edwards means ‘dependant of Edward’, as in the rarer, more specific form Edwardson. The surname and the modern first name both derive from the Old English name Eadweard, which means ‘guardian of prosperity or happiness’. This name is closely related to, but quite distinct from, those other Old English names Edwin (meaning ‘prosperity- friend’ or ‘rich friend’) and Edmund (meaning ‘prosperity- protector’).

The first name Edward was popular in England long before the Norman Conquest, and has remained so ever since. No fewer than eight Kings of England since the Norman Conquest have been called Edward (equalled only by the Henrys). Prior to the Conquest, Edward was the name of several other English kings. Alfred the Great was succeeded by his son Edward (899—925), Edward the Martyr reigned from 975 to 979, and the last Saxon king before the unfortunate Harold was Edward the Confessor (1042—66). This last Edward also became a saint, and as such became patron saint of England until the adoption of the foreign St George.

Edward is one of the few purely English first names to have spread to the Continent, where it retains a certain popularity to this day. (Here it is usually adapted slightly, as in the French Edouard, the Scandinavian Edvard, and the Spanish Eduardo.) Edward has several popular English variations as well. Some of these have become permanently associated with other fields. Ned has been a widespread variant of Edward since the fourteenth century, and Neddy is now the popular name for a donkey. Ted and Teddy are also well known. Ed and Eddie are more modern variants, sometimes deriving from Edmund or Edwin, though the surname Eddy is quite distinct from the surname Edwards. It derives from the Old English Eadwig meaning ‘prosperity war’. Bedward and Beddard are Welsh variants from ‘ab Edward’, ‘son of Edward’.

There are numerous references to Edwards in the 1066 Domesday Book-in the form of Eaduuardus, Aeduuardus, Eduuard(us). (These variations show that the letter ‘w’ in Edward literally originated as a ‘double u’-neatly illuminating the origins of that letter.) However, by 1219 we can see the name used in its present spelling-when one William Edward appears in the Curia Regis Rolls for Suffolk.

The most Noble Order of the Garter was founded by Edward III in 1348. Members of the Order have included the Duke of Wellington and Winston Churchill.

The American clergyman Jonathan Edwards (1703—58) was renowned for his gift as a preacher. Unfortunately, such was the powerful effect of his oratory, that when he led a religious revival in 1734 he drove many of his converts to suicide. After this, he became president of the college which later became Princeton University.

Michael Edwardes, chairman of much troubled BL (formerly British Leyland), was born in South Africa. His meteoric rise in the commercial world came to public notice after he won the Guardian Young Businessman’s Award. His appointment as chairman of BL has made him a popular target for union leaders, and his efforts to save the ailing British car industry-notably by linking it with the Japanese firm of Honda-have frequently raised storms of controversy.

The Fleet Street editorship record is held by Robert Edwards who served four terms as editor of a national newspaper: Daily Express (1961 and again in 1963), Sunday People (1966) and Sunday Mirror (1972).

The United Kingdom has one related-name town-Edwardstone, while Australia has an Edwardstown and New Zealand an Edwardson. The United States has 7 Edwards- related towns.

With about 179,000 namesakes Edwards is the 20th most popular surname in England and Wales. (The name is not common enough throughout Scotland to be counted separately.) Edwards is notably popular in and around Cardiff where an estimated one in about 130 families bears the name. In descending numerical order Liverpool, Birmingham and Bristol are other Edwards strongholds. Around the world Edwards’s are most common in Canberra (one in 479 families), Melbourne (one in 619) and Auckland (one in 678). The United States has more Edwards’s than the entire population of Nottingham-an estimated total of just over 313,000 makes this their 50th most popular surname.