Hedwig is a

German German(s) may refer to: * Germany, the country of the Germans and German things **Germania (Roman era) * Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language ** For citizenship in Germany, see also Ge ...

feminine given name, from

Old High German Old High German (OHG; ) is the earliest stage of the German language, conventionally identified as the period from around 500/750 to 1050. Rather than representing a single supra-regional form of German, Old High German encompasses the numerous ...

Hadwig, Hadewig, Haduwig. It is a

Germanic name Germanic given names are traditionally dithematic; that is, they are formed from two elements ( stems), by joining a prefix and a suffix. For example, King Æþelred's name was derived from ', meaning "noble", and ', meaning "counsel". The i ...

consisting of the two elements ''hadu'' "battle, combat" and ''wig'' "fight, duel". The name is on record since the 9th century, with Haduwig, a daughter of

Louis the German Louis the German (German language, German: ''Ludwig der Deutsche''; c. 806/810 – 28 August 876), also known as Louis II of Germany (German language, German: ''Ludwig II. von Deutschland''), was the first king of East Francia, and ruled from 8 ...

. The name remained popular in German high nobility during the 10th and 11th centuries. Other medieval spellings include Hathuwic, Hathewiga, Hadewich, Hadewic, Hathwiga, Hadwich, Hatwig, Hadwig, Hediwig, Hedewiga, Hedewich, Hedewiih, Hatuuih, Hetvic, Haduwich, Hadawich, Hatuwig, etc. Forms such as Hadiwih, Hadewi, etc. suggest that the name is the result of a conflation of two separate names, one with the second element ''wig'' "fight", the other with the second element '' wih'' "hallowed". A common German (and also Dutch) diminutive of Hedwig is Hedy. The Dutch form of Hedwig is Hadewych (

Hadewijch Hadewijch (), sometimes referred to as Hadewych or Hadewig (of Brabant or of Antwerp), was a 13th-century poet and mystic, probably living in the Duchy of Brabant. Most of her extant writings are in a Brabantian form of Middle Dutch. Her writ ...

). The German name was adopted into Swedish (and to a lesser extent into Danish and Norwegian) in about the 15th century and is still in use in Swedish with the spelling

Hedvig Hedvig is a given name of German origin, derived from ''hadu'' ("battle, combat") and ''wig'' ("fight, duel"). Notable people with the name include: People *Hedvig Catharina De la Gardie (1732–1800), Swedish noblewoman of French descent *Hedvig ...

, with a diminutive

Hedda Hedda is a feminine given name, sometimes a diminutive form (hypocorism) of Hedvig, Hedwig or variants thereof. Bearers of the name include: People Women * Hedda Østberg Amundsen (born 1998), Norwegian cross-country skier * Hedvig Hedda Ander ...

.nordicnames.de
citing Kristoffer Kruken and Ola Stemshaug, ''Norsk Personnamnleksikon'' (1995); Eva Brylla, ''Förnamn i Sverige'' (2004). A Finnish form is Heta. The German name was adopted into Polish, as Jadwiga. A French form is Edwige (not to be confused with the unrelated Anglo-Saxon

Eadwig Eadwig (also Edwy or Eadwig All-Fair, 1 October 959) was King of England from 23 November 955 until his death in 959. He was the elder son of Edmund I and his first wife Ælfgifu, who died in 944. Eadwig and his brother Edgar were you ...

or Edwig).

People named Hedwig

Medieval

* Hedwiga (Hedwig of Babenberg; died c. 886), Duchess of Saxony, mother of

Henry the Fowler Henry the Fowler ( or '; ; – 2 July 936) was the duke of Saxony from 912 and the king of East Francia from 919 until his death in 936. As the first non- Frankish king of East Francia, he established the Ottonian dynasty of kings and emper ...

Hedwige of Saxony Hedwig of Saxony (; – after 958-959) was a member of the Ottonian dynasty and wife of the Robertian duke Hugh the Great. Upon her husband's death in 956, she ruled the Robertian estates as a regent during the minority of their son Hugh Cap ...

(910–965), German noblewoman and mother of Hugh Capet, King of France * Hedwig of Nordgau (ca. 922–ca. 993), wife of

Siegfried of Luxembourg Siegfried (or Sigfried) ( – 28 October 998) was count in the Ardennes, and is known in European historiography as founder and first ruler of the Castle of Luxembourg in 963 AD, and ancestor and predecessor of the future counts and dukes of L ...

, first Count of Luxembourg. * Hedwig of France (970–1013), also called Avoise, Hadevide or Haltude, Countess of Mons * Saint

Hedwig of Silesia Hedwig of Silesia (also Hedwig of Andechs (, , ; 1174 – 15 October 1243), a member of the Bavarians, Bavarian comital Counts of Andechs, House of Andechs, was Duchess of Duchy of Silesia, Silesia from 1201 and of Duchy of Greater Poland, G ...

(1174–1243), Duchess of Silesia, canonized 1267; see also Hedwig Codex * Hedwig of Habsburg (d. ca. 1285/86), daughter of Rudolph I of Germany and his first wife, Gertrude of Hohenburg * Hedwig of Holstein (1260–1324), Swedish queen consort, spouse of King Magnus III of Sweden * Saint

Hedwig of Poland Jadwiga (; 1373 or 137417 July 1399), also known as Hedwig (from German) and in , was the first woman to be crowned as monarch of the Kingdom of Poland. She reigned from 16 October 1384 until her death. Born in Buda, she was the youngest daught ...

(1373–1399), daughter of

Louis I of Hungary Louis I, also Louis the Great (; ; ) or Louis the Hungarian (; 5 March 132610 September 1382), was King of Hungary and Croatia from 1342 and King of Poland from 1370. He was the first child of Charles I of Hungary and his wife, Elizabeth of ...

and ruling queen of Poland

Renaissance and early modern periods

* Hedwig Jagiellon (1408-1431), Polish and Lithuanian princess, daughter of Jogaila, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania, and Anna of Celje * Hedwig, Abbess of Quedlinburg (1445–1511), Princess-Abbess of Quedlinburg from 1458 until her death *

Hedwig Jagiellon, Duchess of Bavaria Hedwig Jagiellon (; , ; 21 September 1457 – 18 February 1502), baptized as Hedwigis, was a princess of the Kingdom of Poland and of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and member of the Jagiellonian dynasty. She was Duchess of Bavaria by marriage to ...

(1457–1502), daughter of the King

Casimir IV Jagiellon Casimir IV (Casimir Andrew Jagiellon; ; Lithuanian: ; 30 November 1427 – 7 June 1492) was Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1440 and King of Poland from 1447 until his death in 1492. He was one of the most active Polish-Lithuanian rulers; under ...

of Poland and Elisabeth Habsburg of Hungary, wife of

George, Duke of Bavaria George of Bavaria referred to as ''the Rich'' (15 August 1455 in Burghausen, Bavaria – 1 December 1503 in Ingolstadt), (German: ''Georg, Herzog von Bayern-Landshut'') was the last duke of Bavaria-Landshut. He was a son of Louis IX the R ...

Hedwig Jagiellon, Electress of Brandenburg Hedwig Jagiellon (, , ; 15 March 1513 – 7 February 1573) was a princess of the Kingdom of Poland (1385–1569), Kingdom of Poland and of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, and a member of the Jagiellonian dynasty as a daughter of Sigismund I the Old ...

(1513–1573), daughter of

Sigismund I the Old Sigismund I the Old (, ; 1 January 1467 – 1 April 1548) was List of Polish monarchs, King of Poland and Grand Duke of Lithuania from 1506 until his death in 1548. Sigismund I was a member of the Jagiellonian dynasty, the son of Casimir IV of P ...

and his first wife Countess

Barbara Zápolya Barbara Zápolya (, , 1495–1515) was Queen of Poland and Grand Duchess of Lithuania as the first wife of Sigismund I the Old from 1512 to 1515. Marriage to Barbara represented an alliance between Sigismund and the House of Zápolya against ...

, wife of

Joachim II Hector, Elector of Brandenburg Joachim II ( or ''Hektor''; 13 January 1505 – 3 January 1571) was a Prince-elector of the Margraviate of Brandenburg (1535–1571), the sixth member of the House of Hohenzollern. Joachim II was the eldest son of Joachim I Nestor, Elector of Br ...

* Princess Hedwig of Denmark (1581–1641) *

Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp Hedwig Eleonora of Holstein-Gottorp (23 October 1636 – 24 November 1715) was Queen of Sweden from 1654 until 1660 as the wife of King Charles X Gustav. She served as regent during the minority of her son, King Charles XI, from 1660 until 1672, ...

(1636–1715), Queen of Sweden from 1654 until 1660 *

Countess Palatine Hedwig Elisabeth of Neuburg Hedwig Elisabeth of Neuburg (Polish: ''Jadwiga Elżbieta Amalia Sobieska''; 18 July 1673 – 10 August 1722) was a Polish princess by marriage to James Louis Sobieski. She was the daughter of Philip William, Duke of Neuburg and Landgravine ...

(1673–1722) German-Polish princess * Hedwig Elisabeth Charlotte of Holstein-Gottorp (1759–1818) Queen-consort of Sweden Norway

Modern era

* Hedwig Anneler, Swiss ethnologist and writer *

Hedwig Dohm Marianne Adelaide Hedwig Dohm (; née Schlesinger, later Schleh; 20 September 1831 – 1 June 1919) was a German feminist and writer. Family Hedwig Dohm was born in the Prussian Prussia (; ; Old Prussian: ''Prūsija'') was a German ...

(1831–1919), German feminist * Hedwig von Rittberg (1839–1896), Prussian-German decorated nurse, hospital supervisor * Hedwig Bleibtreu (1868–1958), Austrian actress *

Hedwig Dransfeld Hedwig Dransfeld (24 February 1871 – 13 March 1925) was a German people, German Catholic feminist, writer and member of parliament. Biography Hedwig Dransfeld was born in Hacheney (now Dortmund), Germany, to the Romberg family (German ari ...

(1871–1925), German feminist * Hedwig Kohn (1887-1964), pioneering German physicist * Hedwig Porschütz (1900–1977), Righteous Among the Nations from Germany * Hedwig Bienenfeld (1907–1976), Austrian-American Olympic swimmer *

Hedy Lamarr Hedy Lamarr (; born Hedwig Eva Maria Kiesler; November 9, 1914 January 19, 2000) was an Austrian-born American actress and inventor. After a brief early film career in Czechoslovakia, including the controversial erotic romantic drama '' Ecstasy ...

(1914–2000), Austrian and American actress born Hedwig Kiesler * Hedwig von Trapp (1917-1972), Austrian singer, daughter of

Georg von Trapp Georg Ludwig Ritter von Trapp (4 April 1880 – 30 May 1947) was an officer in the Austro-Hungarian Navy who became the patriarch of the Trapp Family, Trapp Family Singers. Trapp was the most successful Austro-Hungarian submarine commander of ...

, fictionalised as Brigitta in ''

The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, '' The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. ...

'' * Hedwig Goebbels (1938–1945), one of the

Goebbels children The Goebbels children were the five daughters and one son born to Nazi propaganda minister Joseph Goebbels and his wife Magda. The children, born between 1932 and 1940, were murdered by their parents in Berlin on 1 May 1945, the day both paren ...

* Hedwig von Beverfoerde (b. 1963), German political activist

Fictional characters

Hedwig (Harry Potter) The following is a list of characters from the ''Harry Potter'' series. Each character appears in at least one ''Harry Potter''–related book or story by J. K. Rowling. These books and stories include the seven original ''Harry Potter'' nove ...

, Harry Potter's faithful messenger and pet snowy owl in the ''Harry Potter'' novels by J. K. Rowling * Hedwig, a nine-year-old boy alter of Kevin Wendell Crumb in the film ''

Split Split(s) or The Split may refer to: Places * Split, Croatia, the largest coastal city in Croatia * Split Island, Canada, an island in the Hudson Bay * Split Island, Falkland Islands * Split Island, Fiji, better known as Hạfliua Arts, enter ...

'' * The protagonist of ''Hedwig and the Angry Inch'' (musical), an off-Broadway production ** Same protagonist in the musical's film adaptation ''Hedwig and the Angry Inch'' (film) * Hedvig Ekdal, the daughter in Henrik Ibsen’s play ''

The Wild Duck ''The Wild Duck'' (original Norwegian title: ''Vildanden'') is an 1884 play by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen. It explores the complexities of truth and illusion through the story of a family torn apart by secrets and the intrusion of a ...

'' * Hedwig, the wife of Wilhelm Tell in Friedrich Schiller's 1804 play '' Wilhelm Tell'' * Hedwig, recurring character in the ''SCP Foundation universe'', leader of the Maxwellist denomination of the Church of the Broken God * Sister Hedwig, the protagonist of the visual novel series Misericorde

People named Hedwig

Medieval

Renaissance and early modern periods

Modern era

Fictional characters

References

See also