Show ContentsEden History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Eden family

The surname Eden was first found in Silesia, where in medieval times the name Eder was closely associated to the social and political advancements of the region's feudal society. Eder became a prominent name in local affairs with the branching into other distinguished houses, some of whom played important roles in the territorial conflicts of the period.

Early History of the Eden family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Eden research. Another 56 words (4 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Eden History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Eden Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Eder, Edder, Edden, Edah, Aeder, Aedar, Edar, Ayder, Eden, Edens, Edel, Edere, Edle, Aeden, Aedere and many more.

Early Notables of the Eden family

More information is included under the topic Early Eden Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Eden Ranking

In the United States, the name Eden is the 4,941st most popular surname with an estimated 4,974 people with that name. 1


United States Eden migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Eden Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Alice Eden, who settled in Boston in 1637
  • Alice Eden, age 17, who arrived in Salem, Massachusetts in 1637
  • Allis Eden, aged 18, who arrived in New England in 1637 aboard the ship "John & Dorothy" 2
  • Thomas Eden, who arrived in Maryland in 1668 2
  • Richard Eden, a bonded passenger who settled in America in 1683
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Eden Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Henry C. Eden, whose Oath of Allegiance was recorded in Philadelphia in 1798
Eden Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • Matthew Eden, who landed in New York, NY in 1822 2
  • Jane Eden, who landed in New York, NY in 1826 2
  • H M Eden, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 2
  • Hilrich Eden, aged 17, who landed in New York, NY in 1855 2
  • James Eden, who arrived in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1859 2
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Eden Settlers in United States in the 20th Century
  • Rennie Eden, who arrived in Mobile, Ala in 1900 2
  • William, Eden Jr., who landed in Mobile, Ala in 1900 2
  • Lorraine Lambton Eden, who arrived in Mobile, Ala in 1900 2
  • Leonard Edgeton Eden, who landed in Mobile, Ala in 1902 2
  • Herbert L Eden, who arrived in Mobile, Ala in 1904 2
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Canada Eden migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Eden Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
  • Richard Eden, who settled in Nova Scotia in 1749
  • Richard Eden, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1749
Eden Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
  • Joseph Eden, who arrived in Esquimalt, British Columbia in 1862

Australia Eden migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Eden Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • Miss Mary Ann Eden, (b. 1791), aged 22, Irish convict who was convicted in Kilkenny, Ireland for 7 years, transported aboard the "Catherine" on 8th December 1813, arriving in New South Wales, Australia 3
  • Robert Eden, English convict from Middlesex, who was transported aboard the "Almorah" on April 1817, settling in New South Wales, Australia 4
  • Mr. Joseph Eden, British convict who was convicted in Warwick, Warwickshire, England for 15 years, transported aboard the "Cornwall" on 28th February 1851, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) 5

West Indies Eden migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 6
Eden Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century
  • John Eden, who was recorded in Barbados in 1679

Contemporary Notables of the name Eden (post 1700) +

  • Roger Eden (1905-1970), American composer, arranger and associate producer
  • Barbara Eden (b. 1934), American film and television actress and singer perhaps best known for her role in the sitcom I Dream of Jeannie 7
  • Samuel L. Eden, American politician, Prohibition Candidate for Pennsylvania State Senate 18th District, 1926 8
  • Morton A. Eden (b. 1915), American politician, Candidate for justice of Michigan State Supreme Court, 1949, 1951, 1952 8
  • Leroy Eden, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate in primary for Governor of Florida, 1978 8
  • John Rice Eden (1826-1909), American Democratic Party politician, U.S. Representative from Illinois, 1863-65, 1873-79, 1885-87; Candidate for Governor of Illinois, 1868 8
  • Edwin Winfield Eden (1887-1953), American politician, Mayor of Highland Park, New Jersey, 1928-30 8
  • Charles H. Eden, American Republican politician, Candidate for U.S. Representative from Rhode Island 1st District, 1942; Delegate to Republican National Convention from Rhode Island, 1960 8
  • Bruce Eden, American politician, Representative from New Jersey 8th District, 1990 8
  • Sir Frederick Morton Eden (1766-1809), 2nd Baronet, of Maryland, an English writer on poverty and pioneering social investigator
  • ... (Another 12 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

HMS Prince of Wales
  • Mr. Henry Eden, British Petty Office Stoker, who sailed into battle on the HMS Prince of Wales (1941) and survived the sinking 9


The Eden Motto +

The motto was originally a war cry or slogan. Mottoes first began to be shown with arms in the 14th and 15th centuries, but were not in general use until the 17th century. Thus the oldest coats of arms generally do not include a motto. Mottoes seldom form part of the grant of arms: Under most heraldic authorities, a motto is an optional component of the coat of arms, and can be added to or changed at will; many families have chosen not to display a motto.

Motto: Libertas
Motto Translation: Liberty.


  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
  3. Convict Records of Australia (Retreived 2nd January 2021, retreived from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/catherine
  4. State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Almorah voyage to New South Wales, Australia in 1817 with 180 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/almorah/1817
  5. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 11th March 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/cornwall
  6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
  7. Barbara Eden. (Retrieved 2011, January 21) Barbara Eden. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barbara_Eden
  8. The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 29) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
  9. HMS Prince of Wales Crew members. (Retrieved 2014, April 9) . Retrieved from http://www.forcez-survivors.org.uk/biographies/listprincecrew.html


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