Eadgifu

Eadgifu is a feminine given name of Old English origin. The name is typically interpreted as meaning “wealthy gift” or “prosperous gift,” from the elements ead (fortune, wealth) and gif (gift). It has several spelling variants, including Edgiva, Edgifu, and Eadgiva in Latinized form. The form and spelling varied across manuscripts and regions, reflecting the lack of standardized orthography in early medieval England.

In historical usage, Eadgifu was a relatively common name among Anglo-Saxon noblewomen and appears in a variety of royal and aristocratic contexts. Because sources from the period are fragmentary and often contradictory, precise identifications and genealogical connections for individual bearers are sometimes debated. It is not uncommon to find references to a queen or noblewoman named Eadgifu in chronicles, charters, and hagiographies, but the exact relationships and titles attributed to these figures can be unclear or disputed.

Scholars note that names like Eadgifu illustrate broader patterns of naming among the Anglo-Saxon elite, where a small pool of popular theophoric and honorific elements recurred in multiple generations. After the Norman Conquest, Old English naming patterns including Eadgifu declined in favor of Norman-French forms, though the name occasionally appears in later scholarly or literary works that discuss the early medieval period.

The name Eadgifu thus stands as a window into Anglo-Saxon nomenclature and royal-era onomastics, reflecting cultural values associated with gifts, virtue, and status.