eden

plural edens

1. rareAlternative letter-case form of Eden (“a paradise”).

   The essential formula of both the John Carter and the Tarzan stories was that of an upperclass hero confronting a challenging, radically exotic environment, a lush jungle eden or an eden of extraplanetary technology, […]

   1990, Kevin Starr, Material Dreams: Southern California through the 1920s

1. biblicalA garden built by God as the home for Adam and Eve; sometimes identified as part of Mesopotamia.

   And the LORD God planted a garden Eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed.

   1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], →OCLC, Genesis 2:8

2. An English surname, probably derived from a place name.

   It was no good. I felt beyond all question that I was indeed Eden, not Elvesham. But Eden in Elvesham's body!

   1896, H G Wells, The Story of the Late Mr. Elvesham

3. A unisex given name.
   1. A female given name from Hebrew from the biblical place name; also a medieval diminutive of Old English compound names beginning with the element ēad (“riches”).

      We call Edith Eden now because that is what she called herself before she could pronounce 'th'. It is rather a lovely name, I think. Edith sounds like someone's old aunt. I can't think why Mother and Father chose it.

      1986 Barbara Vine (Ruth Rendell): A Dark-Adapted Eye: page 35

   2. A male given name from Hebrew.

      Robert Smith and co. are out on tour across the UK and Europe, and are currently in the thick of a three-show stint in Berlin. However, on the first gig in the city’s Wulheide on Friday (July 10), fans noticed that Gallup was absent, with his son Eden taking his place.

      2026 July 16, Laura Molloy, “The Cure announce Simon Gallup’s son, Eden, filling in for him on tour as he’s “not well enough to play””, in NME

4. Any of various towns and other place names.
   1. A coastal town in New South Wales, Australia.
   2. A small unincorporated community in Graham County, Arizona.
   3. A city and town in Jerome County, Idaho.
   4. An unincorporated community in Peoria County, Illinois.
   5. An unincorporated community in Randolph County, Illinois.
   6. An unincorporated community in Hancock County, Indiana.
   7. A small unincorporated community in Atchison County, Kansas.
   8. An unincorporated community in Butler County, Kentucky.
   9. A census-designated place in Somerset County, Maryland.
   10. An unincorporated community in Dodge County, Minnesota.
   11. A village in Yazoo County, Mississippi.
   12. A town in Erie County, New York.
   13. A city in Rockingham County, North Carolina.
   14. A small town and village in Marshall County, South Dakota.
   15. A small city in Concho County, Texas.
   16. A census-designated place in Weber County, Utah.
   17. A town in Lamoille County, Vermont.
   18. An unincorporated community in Wahkiakum County, Washington.
   19. An unincorporated community in Boone County, West Virginia.
   20. An unincorporated community in Ohio County, West Virginia.
   21. An unincorporated community in Upshur County, West Virginia.
   22. A town and village in Fond du Lac County, Wisconsin.
   23. A small town in Iowa County, Wisconsin.
   24. A census-designated place in Sweetwater County, Wyoming.
   25. A number of townships in the United States, listed under Eden Township.

plural Edens

1. broadlycountableA paradise on Earth.

   The first explorers saw America as an Eden.

2. broadlyuncountableA state of innocence.

1. A river in Cumbria, England, which passes Carlisle and empties into the Solway Firth.
2. A river in Kent, England, which flows into the Medway; the name is a back-formation of Edenbridge.
3. A river in Fife council area, Scotland, which flows into the North Sea.
4. A small river in the Scottish Borders council area, which flows into the River Tweed; in full, Eden Water.
5. A former local government district in Cumbria, England, formed in 1974 and named after the Cumbrian river, with its headquarters in Penrith; abolished in 2023 and merged into Westmorland and Furness; in full, Eden District.
6. A residential settlement in County Antrim, Ireland.
7. Three townlands in County Londonderry, Northern Ireland.
8. A townland in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland.