Definition of "Edward"

The Christian humility of King Edward the Confessour brought such credit to this name, that since that time it hath been most usual in all estates.

1605, William Camden, Remains Concerning Britain, John Russell Smith, published 1870, page 77

Heaven is my witness! that in the warmest transport of my wishes for the prosperity of my child, I never once wished to crown his head with more glory and honour than what George or Edward would have spread around it.

1765, Laurence Sterne, chapter 8, in Tristram Shandy, Book IV

There's a world of difference between the name Edward, which sounds rather regal and stuffy (Edwardian) and the name Eddie, which sounds like a guy on the bus.

1994, Caroline Knapp, The Merry Recluse: A Life in Essays, Counterpoint Press, published 2004, page 169

It is indeed the same golden Edward, with three holes in it, with which I presented my Mary on her birthday, in her eighteenth year, to buy a new suit for the holidays.

1828, James Hogg, Mary Burnet