Several people have asked, so here’s what we wrote in our last email exchange about it:
EDITH has multiple and overlapping inspirations. I wanted a name that nodded to the original inspiration of editing and valuing the work of the editor. I’ve also worked a lot with non-native speakers and appreciate the quirks of “Global English” pronunciations—where the short “e” of edit might be inadvertently swapped out for the long “e” of Edith. Then there are female artists whose work has impacted us: Edith Wharton, whom I associate with my adopted hometown of New York, and Edith Piaf.
Once I’d chosen EDITH, Edith-y coincidences started popping up. For instance, I found out the woman—incredibly hard-working, entrepreneurial, funny, and cheerful—who owns and operates the wine bar down the block is named Edit, the Hungarian version of Edith. I’d known her in a chatty, neighborly way for a few years but had never actually learned her name. Anyhow, at that point the name seemed fated; less my choice than chosen for us.
