Ned is an English given name and variant of Ed, sometimes short for Edward, Edmund, Edgar or Edwin. "Ned" may have risen from generations of children hearing "mine Ed" as "my Ned" which is an example of a process linguists call rebracketing.
Those bearing it include:
Real people:
Ted Alley (1881-1949), former Australian rules footballer listed in some sources as Ned AlleyEdward Almond (1892–1979), United States Army general best known as the commander of the Army's X Corps during the Korean WarNed Austin (1925–2007), American character actor and Screen Actors Guild- and AFTRA memberNed Barkas (1901–1962), English professional footballerNed Beatty (born 1937), American actorNed Bellamy, American actorNed Block, American philosopherNed Bouhalassa, film score, television score, and electroacoustic music composerNed Boulting (born 1969), British sports journalist and television presenterNed Buntline (1821 or 1823-1886), American publisher, journalist, writer, and publicistNed Cameron, American producer/singer/songwriterNed Catic, Australian former professional rugby league footballerNed Chaillet, radio drama producer and director, writer and journalistNed Cobb (1885-1973), tenant farmerNed Collette (born 1979), Australian musician and singer-songwriterNed Crotty, MLL professional lacrosse playerNed Cuthbert (1845–1905), American professional baseball playerNed Daly (1891–1916), Dublin's 1st battalion commandant during the 1916 Easter RisingNed Dameron, science fiction and fantasy artistNed Day (1945–1987), Las Vegas television journalist and newspaper reporter who was known for taking on mobsters who dominated Las Vegas casinos in the 1970s and '80sNed Dennehy, Irish actorNed Donaghy, American soccer referee active in the 1920s and '30sNed Dowd, American film producer and former actorNed Eckersley, English cricketerNed Eisenberg, American actor known for his recurring role on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit as Roger KresslerNed Endress (1918–2010), American basketball playerNed Evett, American guitarist, singer, and songwriter best known for playing a fretless glass-necked guitarNed Garver, American League pitcher who played from 1948 to 1961Ned Glass (1906–1984), American character actorNed Goldreyer, television writer, television producer and comedianNed Gregory (1839-1899), Australian cricketerNed Hanlan (1855–1908), Canadian professional sculler, hotelier and aldermanNed Herrmann (1922-1999), creator of the Herrmann Brain Dominance InstrumentNed Irish (1905-1982), basketball promoter and one of the key figures in popularizing professional basketballNed Jarrett (born 1932), American race car driverNed Kelly (1850s–1880), Australian outlaw and folk heroNed Lamont (born 1954), American entrepreneur and politicianNed Luke (born 1958), American actorNed Mandingo (born 1966), a radio personality on the Bubba the Love Sponge talk showNed Rorem (born 1923), American composer and diaristNed Vizzini (1981-2013), American writerNed Yost (born 1955), American baseball player and managerFictional characters:
Ned (Pushing Daisies), the main character from the television seriesNed, in the television series The TribeNed Bigby in the television series Ned's Declassified School Survival GuideNed Dorsey, in the television series Ned & StaceyNed Flanders in the television series The SimpsonsNed Gerblansky, in the television series South ParkNed Land, major point-of-view character in the novel Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the SeaNed Nickerson, boyfriend in Nancy Drew novelsNed Schneebly, in the 2003 film School of RockNed Stark in the novel series A Song of Ice and Fire and the HBO TV adaptation Game of ThronesNed Nederlander, one of the Three Amigos in that filmNed Plimpton, in the film The Life Aquatic with Steve ZissouNed Ryder, in Evelyn Waugh's 1945 novel Brideshead RevisitedNed Ryerson, in the film Groundhog DayNed, short for Nedwin, in the book series "Beyonders:_A_World_Without_Heroes"