Edda
(pronounced Ed-dah) my mother's name, after a character in Norse mythology (she has a saga named after her
Edda is an Italian form of Hedda, which started out as a diminutive of Hedwig. Hedwig is derived from the Germanic elements hadu "battle" and wig , "war." Edda was moderately popular in the late 1800s in the USA where it was probably seen as a feminine form of Edward. On an unrelated note, the Eddas are Icelandic sagas which were recorded in the 13th century, though they take place much earlier.