The name Edwina is a feminine form of the male name

Edwin The name Edwin means "rich friend". It comes from the Old English elements "ead" (rich, blessed) and "ƿine" (friend). The original Anglo-Saxon form is Eadƿine, which is also found for Anglo-Saxon figures. People * Edwin of Northumbria (die ...

, which derives from

Old English Old English (, ), or Anglo-Saxon, is the earliest recorded form of the English language, spoken in England and southern and eastern Scotland in the early Middle Ages. It was brought to Great Britain by Anglo-Saxon settlers in the mid-5th c ...

and means "rich friend." Edwin was a popular name until the time of the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Norman, Breton, Flemish, and French troops, all led by the Duke of Normandy, later styled William the Con ...

, then fell out of favour until Victorian times.

People

* Edwina Bartholomew (born 1983), Australian journalist * Edwina Benner (1885–1955), American politician * Edwina Bone (born 1988), Australian field hockey player *

Edwina Booth Edwina Booth (born Josephine Constance Woodruff; September 13, 1904 – May 18, 1991) was an American actress. She is best known for the 1931 film ''Trader Horn'', during the filming of which she contracted an illness which effectively ended h ...

(1909–1991), American actress *

Edwina Brown Edwina Brown (born July 1, 1978) is an American former professional basketball player. Professional career Brown was part of a three-way tie for second place in the 2000 WNBA Rookie of the Year voting. She played 130 games in the WNBA. She also ...

(born 1978), American former basketball player and current college assistant coach *

Edwina Chamier Edwina Chamier (27 March 1890, Chester, Nova Scotia - 31 May 1981, England) née Edwina Ratcliff Lordly, was a Canadian Alpine skiing Olympic champion. Until 2002 she was the oldest athlete ever to take part to the winter games, as she was 45 ye ...

(1890–1981), Canadian Alpine skiing Olympic champion *

Edwina Cornish Edwina Cecily Cornish, AO, FTSE is an Australian biologist and academic, specialising in biotechnology. Between 2012 and 2016 she was Provost and Senior Vice-President of Monash University. She was previously Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Research) ...

, Australian biologist *

Edwina Currie Edwina Currie (' Cohen; born 13 October 1946) is a British writer, broadcaster and former politician, serving as Conservative Party Member of Parliament for South Derbyshire from 1983 until 1997. She was a Junior Health Minister for two years ...

(born 1946), British writer, broadcaster and former Member of Parliament * Edwina P. Dalton (born 1936), American politician * Edwina Eustis Dick (1908–1997), American contralto *

Edwina Dumm Frances Edwina Dumm (1893 – April 28, 1990) was a writer-artist who drew the comic strip ''Cap Stubbs and Tippie'' for nearly five decades; she is also notable as America's first full-time female editorial cartoonist. She used her middle name fo ...

(1910–2007), American comic strip artist * Edwina Dunn (born 1958), English entrepreneur * Edwina Hume Fallis (1876–1957), American educator, writer, toy designer *

Edwina Findley Edwina Findley, also known as Edwina Findley Dickerson, is an American actress. In 2014, Findley began starring as one of lead characters in the Oprah Winfrey Network drama series, '' If Loving You Is Wrong''. Findley is also known for her recu ...

(born 1980), American actress * Edwina Garcia (born 1944), American politician * Edwina Grima (born 1969), Maltese judge * Lady Edwina Louise Grosvenor (born 1981), British prison reformer *

Edwina Hart Edwina Hart, MBE (born 26 April 1957) is a Welsh LabourAssem ...

(born 1957), Welsh Assembly Minister for Social Justice *

Edwina Hayes Edwina Hayes (born 6 June 1973, in Dublin, Ireland) is an Irish born English singer-songwriter. She grew up in Preston, Lancashire before moving to the East Riding of Yorkshire where she gained her first musical experiences playing at local folk ...

(born 1973), English singer-songwriter *

Edwina Keane Edwina Keane (born 1990) is a camogie Camogie ( ; ga, camógaíocht ) is an Irish stick-and-ball team sport played by women. Camogie is played by 100,000 women in Ireland and worldwide, largely among Irish communities. A variant of the ga ...

(born 1990), Irish camogie player *

Edwina Kennedy Edwina Jane Kirkby (née Kennedy), born 10 June 1959, is a former Australian amateur golfer. In 1978, she was the first Australian to win the British Ladies Amateur and was a member of the winning 1978 Australian Espirito Santo Trophy team. Earl ...

(born 1959), Australian golfer *

Edwina Kruse Edwina Kruse (February 22, 1848 – June 23, 1930) was an American educator, born in Puerto Rico. She was principal of Howard High School in Wilmington, Delaware for almost 40 years, and a close associate of Alice Dunbar-Nelson, who taught at H ...

(1848–1930), American educator *

Edwina Lau Edwina Lau Chi-wai, PMSM (, born 29 July 1965) is the head of the National Security Department of the Hong Kong Police Force, and also sits on the Committee for Safeguarding National Security. Career According to an official biography, Lau joi ...

(born 1965), Hong Kong police officer *

Edwina McGrail Edwina McGrail (born 1950) is a Welsh artist and poet. In both her paintings and poetry, McGrail references Celtic mythology, images and traditional patterns. Biography McGrail was born in Wrexham in north Wales and attended the Cheltenham Col ...

(born 1950), Welsh artist *

Edwina Donnelly Mitchell Edwina Donnelly Mitchell (1894–1968) was the Superintendent (warden) of Julia Tutwiler Prison for Women located in Wetumpka, Alabama. Background Originally from Autauga County, Alabama, she was a graduate of Alabama College (now University ...

(1894–1968), American lawyer and prison superintendent *

Edwina Mountbatten Edwina Cynthia Annette Mountbatten, Countess Mountbatten of Burma, (''née'' Ashley; 28 November 1901 – 21 February 1960), was an English heiress, socialite, relief worker and the last vicereine of India as the wife of (the then) Rear Admiral ...

(1901–1960), English heiress and wife of Admiral Louis Mountbatten *

Edwina Palmer Edwina Palmer is a former Associate Professor of Japanese Studies at Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. Palmer was born in Chelmsford, United Kingdom in 1955. She studied at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of Lo ...

(born 1955), Japanese associate professor *

Edwina Pettway Edwina Pettway (born 1950) is an American artist. She is associated with the Gee's Bend quilting collective. She learned to quilt from her mother, Candis Pettway, alongside her sisters Qunnie Pettway and Sally Mae Pettway. Her quilts are known f ...

(born 1950), American artist * Edwina Pio, New Zealand academic * Edwina Rogers (born 1964), American agnostic * Edwina Sandys (born 1938), British artist * Edwina Spicer (born 1948), Zimbabwean journalist * Edwina Stewart (1934–2020), Northern Irish communist and civil-rights activist *

Edwina Tops-Alexander Edwina Tops-Alexander (born 29 March 1974) is an Australian showjumper known for her participation in three Olympics, finishing in the top ten twice. She is the first Australian to place in the top 10 at the World Equestrian Games and the firs ...

(born 1974), Australian equestrian rider * Edwina von Gal, American landscaper * Edwina Whitney (1868–1970), American librarian * Edwina Florence Wills (1915–2002), American artist

Fictional characters

*Edwina, an animated character in the television series ''

My Friend Rabbit ''My Friend Rabbit'' is a children's picture book written and illustrated by Eric Rohmann. Published in 2002 by Roaring Brook Press, the book is a lighthearted tale about the friendship between a mouse and a rabbit. Rohmann won the 2003 Caldec ...

'', played by Stacey DePass *Edwina Brown, in the film ''

National Velvet ''National Velvet'' is a novel by Enid Bagnold (1889–1981), first published in 1935. It was illustrated by Laurian Jones, Bagnold's daughter, who was born in 1921. Plot summary ''National Velvet'' is the story of a 14-year-old girl named ...

'' (1944), played by Angela Lansbury *Edwina Chicken, a minor character in the film ''

Chicken Run ''Chicken Run'' is a 2000 stop-motion animated comedy film produced by Pathé and Aardman Animations in partnership with DreamWorks Animation. Aardman’s first feature-length film and DreamWorks Animation's fourth film, it was directed by ...

'' (2000) *Edwina Cutwater, in the film '' All of Me'' (1984), played by Lily Tomlin *Edwina Ferguson, in the ''M*A*S*H'' episode " Edwina" *Edwina Fulton, in the movie '' Monkey Business'' played by Ginger Rogers (1952) *

Edwina Lewis The name Edwina is a feminine form of the male name Edwin, which derives from Old English and means "rich friend." Edwin was a popular name until the time of the Norman Conquest, then fell out of favour until Victorian times. People *Edwina Barth ...

, on the soap opera ''One Life to Live'' * Edwina Lionheart, played by Diana Rigg in the film ''Theatre of Blood'' *Edwina "Ed" McDunnough, in the movie ''

Raising Arizona ''Raising Arizona'' is a 1987 American crime comedy film directed by Joel Coen, produced by Ethan Coen, and written by Joel and Ethan Coen. It stars Nicolas Cage as H.I. "Hi" McDunnough, an ex-convict, and Holly Hunter as Edwina "Ed" McDunnough, ...

'', played by

Holly Hunter Holly Patricia Hunter (born March 20, 1958) is an American actress. For her performance as Ada McGrath in the 1993 drama film '' The Piano'', Hunter won the Academy Award for Best Actress. She earned three additional Academy Award nominations for ...

*Edwina Moira, in the ''Thief'' computer game series * Edina Monsoon, born Edwina, the main character of the BBC television series ''Absolutely Fabulous'' played by Jennifer Saunders *

Edwina Richese The ''Dune'' prequel series is a sequence of novel trilogies written by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson. Set in the ''Dune'' universe created by Frank Herbert, the novels take place in various time periods before and in between Herbert's or ...

, in the novel ''Dune: House Atreides'' *Edwina Spoonapple, in the musical '' Dear Edwina'' *Edwina Winston, on ''

The Simpsons ''The Simpsons'' is an American animated sitcom created by Matt Groening for the Fox Broadcasting Company. The series is a satirical depiction of American life, epitomized by the Simpson family, which consists of Homer Simpson, Homer, Marge ...

'' (former lover of Abraham Simpson) *Edwina Sharma, on

Bridgerton ''Bridgerton'' is an American historical- romance streaming television series created by Chris Van Dusen for Netflix. Based on the book series by Julia Quinn, it is Shondaland's first scripted show for Netflix. It revolves around the epony ...

played by Charithra Chandran {{given name English feminine given names