This surname is derived from the name of an ancestor. 'the son of Edward.' It is a curious thing to note that while our Richardsons, Williamsons, and Harrisons can be numbered by thousands, Edwardson has always been a very rare surname. The shorter Edwards has monopolized everything. Yet Williams, Richards, and Harris have not been put down by their longer brethren.

William Edward, Somerset, 1 Edward III: Kirby's Quest.

Adam Edward, 1379: Poll Tax of Yorkshire.

Willelmus Edward, taylour, 1379: ibid.

Ricardus Edward, 1379: ibid.

John Edwardson, of Bold, 1594: Wills at Chester.

Roger Edwardson, of Kenyon, 1624: ibid. (1621-50).

1415. Robert Edward: Cal. of Wills in Court of Husting (2).

1600. Married — Richard Edwardson and Elizabeth Harford: St. James, Clerkenwell.

From the Old English personal name Eadweard, 'happy ward' or guardian.' The seal of George Edward, 1441, is described by Macdonald (842). Watty Edwerd was tenant of part of the burcht of Kethik, 1504 (Cupar-Angus, I, p. 256), Andreas Edwaird in Murthlac, 1550 (Illus., II, p. 262), Thomas Edward, merchant burgess of Linlithgow, 1637 (Retours, Linlithgow, 134), and Alexander Edward, writer in Edinburgh, 1688 (Inquis., 6925). John Edward, tanner burgess of Edinburgh, 1722 (Guildry, p. 125). The name was early confused with Udahd, which see, and Peter (Baronage of Mearns) says the old name of the family of Edward of Balruddery in Angus was Uduard. Edwart 1634.

'son of Edward,' which see.

(English) Prosperous or Blessed Guardian [Anglo-Saxon Eádw(e)ard—eád. prosperity, blessedness, &c, + w(e)ard, ward, guard (ian]

The personal name, which has given rise as surnames to Edwards, Ethards, Edwardson, Tedd, and perhaps to Edes, Edkins, &c.

This name is so common that more than two hundred and fifty London traders bear it. In the Registrar-General's List it occupies the twentieth place for frequency, there being for every four Smiths or Joneses about one Edwards, or 25 per cent. Many families of Edwards and Edwardes are of Welsh patrician origin. For example, Edwards of Nanhoron descends from one of the royal tribes of Wales through Sir Griffith Lloyd and Sir Howell y Fwyallt; Edwards of Ness Strange descends from Einion Effel, lord of Cynllaeth, co. Montgomery, 1182; Edwards of Old-Court, co. Wicklow, claims from Roderick the Great, king of all Wales in 843, through his younger son, Tudwall Gloff or "the lame," whose descendants settled in Ireland in the XVII. century. It may seem remarkable that such a thoroughly Saxon name should occur so frequently in Welsh families of ancient blood, but it must be remembered that settled surnames do not appear among the Welsh till within the last two or three centuries, long after the prejudices against our early Edwards had passed away. See Edwardes.

Good nature.

(Saxon.) Happy keeper.

From St. Edward. William de St. Edwardo and Jordan his son, t. Henry I., paid a fine for the lands of Roger, uncle of Jordan (Rot. Pip.). This was evidently a foreign family. Hugh de St. Edwardo occurs in Hereford and Bedford 1199 (Rotuli Curiae Regis).

Edwards. —A name exceedingly numerous in North and South Wales and in the adjacent English counties of Shropshire, Hereford, and Monmouth. Outside this area, its frequency diminishes very suddenly; it may be said, however, to be fairly distributed through England south of a line drawn from the Wash to the Mersey, not one of the counties north of this line occurring in my list. Strangely enough, however, it reappears in Scotland north of the Forth and the Clyde. Lower says that this surname, though now so numerous in Wales, was probably not generally assumed by Welshmen until within the last two or three centuries, after the prejudices against the early Edwards had passed away.

Edward Counsell, of Allerton, was transported to Barbadoes for participating in the Monmouth rebellion of 1685 (H.), a punishment pronounced by history to be no disgrace. Mr. John Counsel, of Mark, gave, in 1730, a sum of £10, the interest to be distributed amongst the "second poor" on Christmas Day for ever (C.). A family of Counsel lived at Stoughton, in Wedmore parish, last century (C.). The name is still represented in the parish of Mark.

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.