Hedwig
Barely 76 people in Poland carry it, and no newborn girl has been given it this century. It's the German cousin of Polish Jadwiga, from Germanic roots for "battle" and "war".
Hedwig Pronunciation
Hedwig is pronounced KHED-veek (/ˈxɛdvik/).
What Hedwig means
Where Hedwig comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Hedwig comes from Germanic roots, joining "hadu," battle, with "wig," war. Both halves mean fighting, so the name doubles down: battle war, a warrior twice over. In German the name stays Hedwig, closest to those old roots. It traveled east into Poland as Jadwiga.
Two women fixed the name in Polish memory. Hedwig of Silesia, known as Jadwiga Śląska, was born in Bavaria and married into the Silesian Piasts. She became a duchess and later a saint. Jadwiga was also the monarch crowned "king" of Poland in 1384. The name held rank.
The everyday form softens all that. Jadzia sounds warm on a school register. Underneath sits the older sense, wojowniczka, the woman who fights.
How many people are named Hedwig
1 in 317519 women in Poland is named Hedwig. 76 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #4093 among female names.
Hedwig as a middle name
Hedwig is a first name for 76 women in Poland and a middle name for another 125, a 38/62 split. In the women's middle-name ranking it sits 586th, between Susana (126) and Alma (124).
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#584 Jesika126
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#585 Susana126
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#586 Hedwig125
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#587 Alma124
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#588 Fabiola124