I adore
Edmund and probably will always like it better based on my love of Narnia and of
Jane Austen's hero
Edmund Bertram in her novel Mansfield Park. Like you I also shy away from
Ed and
Eddie and since I really love Irish names I have recently fallen in love with
Eamon the Gaelic form of
Edmund.
Esmond is a really nice alternative too and though I like
Edmund better in theory I think that
Esmond might work better as a FN in today's society.