A modern vintage revival name or a timeless classic?

[Alonewithmydalmations]

Would you consider Edmund to be a grandpa chic/revival name? Or an underused timeless classic? Or both? It's on my list along with Edwin and Edward.

Who is generally using Edmund/Edgar/Edwin these days i.e normal middle class families? All walks of life? People honouring a relative? Fashionable London hipsters? Mostly by people who like Edward but want an alternative? Are they the same or different in terms of vibe and usage?

It seems that turn of the century names are trending generally. I have in the last month or so (I work with families) met a baby Mavis, Edith, Florence, Victor, Hector, Ada and a Percy, and today I met an Edmund. Is Edmund also on the cusp of a revival? I haven't yet met an Edwin or an Edgar.

I wouldn’t say it’s a timeless classic, although it’s a classic ie vintage (Edwardian?) name. Timeless to me means never really not used, eg Thomas.

I know an Edwin my age. I like it.

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.

I really like Edmund. The other names I mostly know one or two, all teens or young adults.

Would you consider Edmund to be a grandpa chic/revival name? No.
Or an underused timeless classic? There was a Prince Edmund, son of King Æthelred the Unready.

Who is generally using Edmund/Edgar/Edwin these days i.e normal middle class families? All walks of life? People honouring a relative? Fashionable London hipsters? Does it matter? If it does, I don't see it becoming mainstream unless a celebrity makes it popular.

Mostly by people who like Edward but want an alternative? Yes, or people who happen to like the name. I'd put them in the same group as parents who call their child Benedict. The boys will just be Ed or Ben, but they'll have something fancy on the birth certificate.

Are they the same or different in terms of vibe and usage? No, Edmund will make people think of Blackadder or Narnia, Edgar will make people think of Egg (This Life), J. Edgar Hoover or Edgar Allan Poe, and Edwin of Buzz Aldrin. Of the three, Edwin is the most popular. Baby name explorer

Is Edmund also on the cusp of a revival? Doubt it.

I don’t think it is quite a classic, it’s never been used enough for that.

I like it, and Edwin. The Edwin I know is a properly great chap.

Edmund Blackadder! Revive Edmund! I like it. Much better than common Edward.

I wouldnt describe it as a classic but it fits into the 'known but underused' category and Ed is a solid diminutive.

For older E names I much prefer Ernest. Mostly due to the importance of being.

Edmund blackadder I am not a fan
Edwin I like the more i see it
Edgar an elderly great uncle who liked to be in his allotment
Edward not nice enough to put up with the inevitable shortening to Ed.

How can anyone not find Blackadder funny!? Of course you could use Del, Rodney or Basil.

@FallenNight , The Oscar Wilde book was The Importance of Being Earnest, and the word earnest had homosexual overtones at the time.

Excellent insight @HugoThatway I love the book/plays/films and reading, and hearing Earnest/Ernest said frequently the sound of the name Ernest is nicer to my ears than the others suggested. I dislike Ed and all the others would likely be shortened at some point to Ed. I'd rather an Ernie than an Ed.....preferably with a twin called Herbert.

I rather like Norbert.

I love Edmund! And Eddie is lovely for a little boy. I also love Norman and hope that comes back!

I knew one at uni. Decent bloke.

My grandfather, born in 1909, was Edwin. He went by his middle name as he thought Edwin sounded too old fashioned!

I met 2 Edwins in the 1990s - both Chinese men who had taken Edwin as an English name, which I thought was interesting.

I know several very posh children named Edgar, and tons of not-quite-so-posh Edwards, all in London.

Never met an Edmund, but I find the name a bit clunky.

I love Edmund but I am a mediaeval type. Still salty about Edmund of Rutland. However I know several Edwards, an Edmund and 2 Edwin’s so I think you should be fine

Yes, that's what I think of too, so I guess it has faintly literary vibes for me, though it also sounds a strong name.

Truthfully, I think Edward is more elegant, but I also understand the desire for a more unusual name, and I think Edmund works well. It is nicer than Edgar or Edwin imo.

I think it deserves a revival, along with Harold and Howard. And maybe Diggory since we are thinking LWandW.

It's funny, I don't think of Edgar as posh at all. It's a bit of a "down the pub" name to me.

Yes, and Hubert.

One of my friends has a 10 year old son called Edwin, known as Eddie. I think it's lovely.

I love Blackadder

Love Edmund.

I love it…but I’m biased because I have one 😂We chose it because we liked it and because of having big families with lots of the standard male names already belonging to close family members. We wanted a normal enough sounding name that would be easy to pronounce wherever he went, but without the hassle of there being 5 of them in the class.

We fall into your category of a “normal middle class family”, live in a fairly affluent northern town and nobody really bats an eyelid. People often mishear it as Edward initially, but he’s confident enough to correct them and then everyone cracks on.

One sports coach absolutely could not cope with saying Edmund so was v relieved when he overhead us shortening it to Eddie, but otherwise nobody has ever read that much into a child’s name when they’re standing there in front of them, at least that I’ve been aware of.

I knew a couple of people called it at uni so to me it’s just a normal name, no strong connotations for me personally with blackadder or Narnia, but I wasn’t really into either.

Ultimately, does it matter what anyone else thinks? If you like the name, go for it. I have zero regrets several years on!

Oh I love Edmund! I don’t think you could call it timeless but it’s classic and I love the literary, scholarly, medieval vibe.

Primary-aged DD has recently moved schools and has an Edgar in her new class - never come across one before but it’s really growing on me (helps that he’s lovely!) It’s a solidly middle class school but not ‘posh’ as such. Edwin is also quite nice.