Ada
Ada was the 219th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 1,401 babies. Its best year was 1880, when it ranked 33rd; the most babies were born in 1918 (1,943). Over the last ten years it has moved up 136 places. More babies were named Ada in the 1910s than in any other decade.
Meaning noble · Germanic, Hebrew
Say it AY-duh /ˈeɪdə/
- Rank in 2025
- #219 girls, down 34 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 1,401girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 19181,943 babies
- Total since 1880
- 107,183babies recorded
What does the name Ada mean?
Ada is a short form of Germanic names beginning with adal, 'noble', such as Adelaide and Adela; DMNES and Wiktionary agree, and DMNES lists a 7th-century saint. Wiktionary also notes a Latinized form of the Hebrew Adah, a wife of Lamech in Genesis, and Wikipedia notes a separate Turkish name Ada, used for both sexes. Ada Lovelace, the 19th-century mathematician, made the name famous, and a programming language is named after her.
adal (Old High German, “noble”)עָדָה (Biblical Hebrew, “Adah”)
How sure is this? Probable. Usually the Germanic 'noble' name; Hebrew Adah and Turkish Ada are separate sources.
Related names: Adah, Adeline, Adelaide, Adela, Addie.
See also: Germanic names, names that mean noble.
Sources for this meaning
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, ed. S. L. Uckelman, Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Ada', Durham University / The DMNES Editors
- Wiktionary, entry 'Ada', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
- Wikipedia, 'Ada (name)', Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation); facts restated, no text reused
Ada popularity since 1880
A few boys are given the name too: 278 since 1885.
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #219 | 1,401 |
| 2020 | #185 | 1,560 |
| 2010 | #538 | 544 |
| 2000 | #1,053 | 197 |
| 1990 | #1,024 | 177 |
| 1980 | #909 | 166 |
| 1970 | #668 | 238 |
| 1960 | #514 | 351 |
| 1950 | #369 | 471 |
| 1940 | #246 | 665 |
| 1930 | #185 | 1,040 |
| 1920 | #136 | 1,823 |
| 1910 | #94 | 960 |
| 1900 | #72 | 1,101 |
| 1890 | #51 | 1,074 |
| 1880 | #33 | 652 |
How popular is Ada, counting every spelling?
Ada is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #241 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #219 for Ada on its own. Together these spellings went to 1,417 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ada | 1,401 | #219 | 7,935 |
| Adda | 16 | #6,838 | 40 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Ada?
1,401 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Ada (0.39 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Ada born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 6 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Ada.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Ada?
About 37,800 people born in the US named Ada are alive today, with a median age of 17; half are between 7 and 63. That makes Ada mostly worn by children and young adults. The wide spread shows a name popular in two different eras.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Ada by state
How common Ada was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Maine (3.7×), North Dakota (3.7×), South Dakota (2.9×), District of Columbia (2.8×), Montana (2.7×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Rhode Island, New Mexico, Hawaii.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Ada: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Ada, they share its era and feel.
Ada is also a nickname for Adalynn and Adelaide.
Questions about the name Ada
What does Ada mean?
Ada means “noble” (Germanic, Hebrew origin). Certainty: probable.
How popular is the name Ada?
Ada was the 219th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 1,401 babies. Its best year was 1880, when it ranked 33rd; the most babies were born in 1918 (1,943). Over the last ten years it has moved up 136 places. More babies were named Ada in the 1910s than in any other decade.
Is Ada a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Ada in the US.
Where is Ada most popular?
In 2021–2025, Ada was most common in Maine (3.62 per 1,000 girls), followed by North Dakota and South Dakota.