Edna (given name)

EdnaGender| female

|

Origin
Meaning| gentleness, pleasure, youthfulness

Edna (Hebrew: עֶדְנָה) is a feminine given name originating from several languages. In Hebrew, it means "pleasure, delight". The name is occurs in the Book of Tobit as the name of the mother of Sarah and stepmother ofvTobias. In Ireland, the name has been usedas an Anglicized form of the Irish name Eithne. It has been in use in the Anglosphere since the 1600s. [1] The name was particularly well-used in the late 19th and earlt 20th centuries.

## People with the given name Edna

[edit]

* Edna Alexander (died 1913), Canadian-born soprano
* Edna Belle Alexander (1892-1972), American composer
* Edna Allyn (1861-1927), American librarian
* Edna P. Amidon (1895-1982), American educator and federal official
* Edna Andrade (1917-2008), American abstract artist
* Edna Andrews, American academic
* Edna Anhalt (1914-1987), American screenwriter, television writer, and film producer
* Edna Arbel (born 1944), Israeli lawyer and former Israeli Supreme Court Justice
* Edna Anne Wheeler Ballard (1886-1971), American theosopher
* Edna Barker (1936-2019), English cricketer
* Edna Yolani Batres (born 1967), Honduran politician
* Theodora Bean (born Edna Belle Bean; 1871-1926), American journalist and suffragist
* Edna Beard (1877-1928), American politician
* Edna Gertrude Beasley (1892-1955), American writer and memoirist
* Edna Beilenson (1909-1981), American typographer, fine press printer, typesetter, book designer, cook book author, and publisher
* Edna Béjarano (born 1951), Israeli singer
* Edna Bessell (born 1946), English former international lawn bowler
* Edna Best (1900–1974), British actress
* Edna Libby Beutenmüller (1872-1934), American scientific illustrator
* Jean Edna Blackburn (1919-2001), Australian educationalist
* Edna A. Boorady (1921–2008), American lawyer, diplomat
* Edna Bourque (1915-2012), Canadian volunteer
* Edna Buchanan (born 1938), American journalist and mystery novelist
* Edna Brown (1940-2022), American politician
* Edna Butfield, British speech and language therapist
* Edna Carrillo (born 1991), Mexican judoka
* Edna Woolman Chase (1877-1957), American magazine editor
* Edna Dow Littlehale Cheney (1824–1904), American writer, reformer, philanthropist
* Edna Child (1922-2023), British diver and Olympian
* Edna Christofferson (1886-1945), American aviator, markswoman, and radiographer
* Edna Cintrón (1954-2001), American office worker who died in the September 11 attacks
* Edna Cisneros (1930-2013), American lawyer
* Edna Sarah Cole (1855-1950), American Presbyterian Church missionary in Siam (now Thailand)
* Edna Coll (1906-2002), Puerto Rican educator and author
* Edna Gallmon Cooke (1917-1967), American gospel singer and recording artist
* Edna Cukierman, Mexican biochemist and academic
* Edna Cain Daniel (1875–1957), American journalist and publisher
* Edna Davey (1909-2000), Australian freestyle swimmer and Olympian
* Edna Davis (1907-1989), Australian entertainer and performer, and notorious vexatious litigant.
* Edna de Lima (1879-1968), American lyric soprano singer and translator
* Edna Deane (1905–1995), English ballroom dancer, choreographer and author
* Edna Reed DeWees (1921-2009), American law enforcement officer
* Edna Diefenbaker (1899-1951), first wife of the 13th Prime Minister of Canada, John Diefenbaker
* Edna Doré (1922–2014), British actress
* Edna Dummerth (1924-2017), American baseball player
* Edna Mae Durbin (1921-2013), Canadian-born American singer and actress known professionally as Deanna Durbin
* Edna Park Edwards (c. 1895-1967), American screen actress
* Edna Eicke (1919–1979), American illustrator
* Edna Elias (born c. 1955), Canadian politician
* Edna L. Emme (1899-1995), American cosmetologist
* Edna H. Fawcett (1879-1960), American botanist
* Edna Ferber (1885–1968), American novelist
* Edna Foa (born 1937), Israeli academic
* Edna Lois Foley (1878-1943), American nurse
* Edna Foster (1900-?), American actress
* Edna Garabedian, American operatic mezzo-soprano, voice teacher, and opera director
* Edna Ginesi (1902-2000), British painter
* Edna Gladney (1886-1961), American children’s rights activist
* Edna Goodrich (1883-1971), American actress and author
* Edna Golandsky, American classical music pianist and educator
* Edna Guy (1907-1982), American modern dance pioneer
* Edna Clarke Hall (1879-1979), English a watercolour artist, etcher, lithographer and draughtsman
* Edna Mae Harris (1914-1987), American actress and singer
* Edna Haviland (1896-1981), Canadian industrial chemist
* Edna Miller Hennessee (1919-2011), American businesswoman
* Edna Hibbard (1894-1942), American stage and motion picture actress
* Edna Hicks (c. 1891 or 1895-1925), American blues singer and musician
* Edna Hibel (1917-2014), American artist
* Edna Holland (1895-1982), American actress
* Edna Wallace Hopper (1872-1959), American stage and silent film actress
* Edna Hughes (1916-1990), English competitive swimmer and Olympian
* Edna Mayne Hull (1905-1975), Canadian science fiction writer
* Jane Edna Hunter (1882-1971), American social worker
* Edna Hunter (1876-1920), American stage and silent film actress
* Edna Imade (born 2000), Nigerian professional footballer
* Edna Indermaur (1892-1985), American contralto
* Edna Adan Ismail (Born 1937), Somali foreign Minister, Midwife, FGM abolitionist and former First first lady of Somaliland
* Edna Iturralde (born 1948), Ecuadorian author
* Edna Burke Jackson (1911-2004), American educator and wtiter
* Edna Davis Jackson (born 1950), American Tlingit artist
* Edna Jessop (1926-2007), Australian drover
* Edna Buckman Kearns (1882-1934), American suffragist
* Edna Keeley (1884-1961), American stage and silent film actress
* Edna F. Kelly (1906–1997), American politician
* Edna Kenton (1876-1954), American writer and literary critic
* Edna Kiplagat (born 1979), Kenyan professional long-distance runner
* Edna Kramer (1902-1984), American mathematician
* Edna Moscelyne Larkin (1925-2012), American ballerina
* Edna Lawrence 1916-2015), American modelnand filmmactress
* Edna Leedom (1896–1937), American actress
* Edna Lewis (1916–2006), African-American chef
* Edna Blanchard Lewis (876-1933), American insurance broker
* Edna Loftus (1891-1916), British actress
* Edna Longley (born 1940), Irish literary critic and cultural commentator
* Edna Luby (1884-1928), American actress and comedian
* Edna Lumb (1931-1992), British artist
* Edna Machirori, Zimbabwean journalist
* Edna Ahgeak MacLean (born 1944), American Iñupiaq academic administrator, linguist, anthropologist and educator from Alaska,
* Edna Madzongwe (born 1943), Zimbabwean politician
* Edna Maison (1892-1946), American silent film actress
* Edna Malone (1899-?), Canadian dancer
* Edna Manley (1900–1987), Jamaican sculptor
* Edna Manning (born 1942), American educator
* Edna Marion (1906-1957), American silent film actress
* Edna Maskell (1928-2018), Rhodesian hurdler
* Edna May (1878-1948), American actress and singer
* Edna Mayo (1895-1970), American silent film actress
* Edna McGriff (1935-1980), American rhythm and blues singer and pianist
* Edna L. McRae (1901-1990), American dancer, choreographer and dance teacher
* Edna Greene Medford, American academic
* Edna Merey-Apinda (born 1976), Gabonese writer
* Edna Molewa (1957-2018), South African politician
* Edna Morton (1894-1980), American actress
* Edna Mosher (1878-1972), Canadian entomologist and lepidopterist
* Edna Mosley (1899-1954), British architect
* Edna Munsey (1891-1951), American stage actress
* Edna Murphey, American businesswoman
* Edna Murphy (1899-1974), American silent film actress
* Edna Murray (1898-1966), American criminal
* Edna Nahshon, American academic
* Dame Edna O'Brien (1930-2024), Irish writer
* Edna May Oliver (1883-1942), American stage and film actress
* Edna Owen (1859-1936), American suffragist
* Edna Pahewa (born 1954), New Zealand weaver
* Edna Paisano (1948-2014), American Nez Perce and Laguna Pueblo demographer and statistician
* Edna Parker (1893-2008), American supercentenarian
* Edna Payne] (1891-1953), American silent movie actress
* Edna Pearce (1906-1995), New Zealand kindergarten teacher and director, policewoman, and internment camp supervisor
* Edna Pendleton (1887-1940), American silent film actress
* Edna Pengelly (1874-1959), Canadian-born New Zealand teacher, civilian and military nurse, matron
* Edna Phillips (1907-2003), American harpist
* Edna Phillips (c. 1922-1992), British murder victim
* Edna P. Plumstead (1903-1989), South African palaeobotanist
* Edna Dean Proctor (1829–1923), American poet
* Edna Purviance (1895–1958), American actress
* Edna Reindel (1894-1990), American artist
* Edna Richardson (born 1949), American singer, dancer and actress
* Edna G. Riley (1880-1962), American screenwriter, author, activist, and assistant film director
* Edna Mae Robinson (1915-2002), American dancer, actress, and activist
* Edna Roper (1913-1986), Australian politician
* Edna Ryan (activist)|Edna Ryan (née Nelson)]] (1904-1997), Australian feminist and labor rights activist
* Edna May Ryan (born 1946), New Zealand former cricketer
* Edna Sanchez, Filipina politician
* Edna Santini (born 1992), Brazilian rugby union and sevens player
* Edna Savage (1936-2000), British pop singer
* Edna Sayers (1912-1996), Australian cyclist
* Edna Schechtman (1948-2022), Israeli statistician
* Edna Schmidt (1969-2021), American journalist
* Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892–1950), American poet and playwright
* Edna May Best Sexton (1880-1923), Canadian social activist and war worker
* Edna Shavit (1935-2015), Israeli academic
* Edna Sheen (1944-2012), American makeup artist
* Edna Shemesh (born 1953), Israeli author and former journalist
* Edna Cooke Shoemaker (1889-1975), American artist and illustrator
* Edna Skinner (1921-2003), American film and television actress
* Edna May Sperl (1899-1957), American silent film actress
* Edna May Spooner (1873-1953), American actress, playwright, and vaudeville performer.
* Dorothy Squires (born Edna May Squires; 1915-1998), Welsh singer
* Edna Staebler (1906-2006), Canadian writer and literary journalist
* Edna Stern (born 1977), Belgian-Israeli pianist
* Edna Stillwell (1915-1982), American comedian and screenwriter
* Edna Stoddart (1888-1966), American painter and diarist
* Edna Sugathapala (1946-2018), Sri Lankan actress
* Edna Taçon (1905-1980), American-born Canadian artist
* Edna Tepava (1955-2024), French model and beauty pageant competitor
* Edna Thomas, Papua New Guinean former footballer and current manager
* Edna Harker Thomas (1881-1942), American Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints leader
* Edna Lewis Thomas (1885-1974), American stage actress
* Edna Tichenor (1901–1965), American actress
* Edna Henry Lee Turpin (1867-1952), American author
* Edna Westbrook Trigg (1868-1946), American educator and social worker
* Edna W. Underwood (1873-1961), American author, poet, and translator

Edna Watson (1895-1976), Bermudan politician

* Edna Noble White (1879-1954), American educator
* Edna Wildey (1882-1970), American tennis player
* Edna May Wonacott (1932-2022), American child actress
* Edna Wright (1945-2029), American singer
* Edna Yost (1889-1971), American writer

## Fictional characters

[edit]

* Edna, maid of the Birlings in the play An Inspector Calls
* Edna, the Inebriate Woman, 1971 BBC TV drama
* Edna Birch in the television series Emmerdale
* Edna Braithwaite, a maid in Downton Abbey Edna from Flintstones
* Dame Edna Everage
* Edna Garrett in the television series Diff'rent Strokes and The Facts of Life
* Edna Gee in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street in the 1970s
* Edna Krabappel in the television series The Simpsons
* Edna Mode, fictional fashion designer in the animated film The Incredibles
* Edna Pontellier in Kate Chopin's novel "The Awakening"
* Edna Spalding in the 1984 film Places in the Heart
* Edna Turnblad in the 1988 film Hairspray and subsequent adaptations as a stage musical and musical film

## See also

[edit]

* Adna (given name), which is transliterated as "Edna" in the Douay–Rheims Bible

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Hanks, Patrick; Hardcastle, Kate; Hodges, Flavia (2006). Oxford Dictionary of First Names. Oxford University Press. p. 64\. ISBN 0-19-861060-2.

Name list

This page or section lists people that share the same given name.
If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change that link to point directly to the intended article.