Adelaide
Adelaide was the 289th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 1,062 babies. Its best year was 1883, when it ranked 179th; the most babies were born in 2016 (1,240). Over the last ten years it has moved down 17 places. More babies were named Adelaide in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Meaning noble kind · Germanic, French
Say it AD-uh-layd /ˈædəleɪd/
- Rank in 2025
- #289 girls, down 17 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 1,062girls
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a girl’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 20161,240 babies
- Total since 1880
- 35,007babies recorded
What does the name Adelaide mean?
Adelaide is the French form of the Germanic name Adalheid, from adal, "noble", and heit, "kind, type". DMNES gives the same elements under Alice, which is a medieval contraction of the same name. It became popular in Britain through Queen Adelaide, wife of William IV, after whom the Australian city is named. DMNES lists a 10th-century Holy Roman empress and saint of the name under Alice, and calls Alice one of the most lasting women's names of medieval Europe.
adal (Old High German, “noble”)heit (Old High German, “kind, sort”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Alice, Adela, Adeline, Heidi, Addie.
See also: Germanic names, names that mean noble.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Adelaide', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources (ed. S. L. Uckelman), Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Alice', DMNES, Durham University
- Dictionary.com Unabridged (based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary), with Collins English Dictionary, s.v. 'Adelaide', Dictionary.com / Random House / HarperCollins
Nicknames for Adelaide
The usual nicknames for Adelaide are Addie and Ada. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 girls named Adelaide in the last five years, 141 were named Ada, against 127 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Girls, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Addie · also for Addison, Adeline, Adalynn | Traditional | #1,272 | 916 |
| Ada · also for Adalynn | Traditional | #219 | 7,935 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are girls given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Adelaides go by each one.
Adelaide popularity since 1880
| Year | Rank (girls) | Babies (girls) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #289 | 1,062 |
| 2020 | #272 | 1,140 |
| 2010 | #434 | 711 |
| 2000 | #1,387 | 134 |
| 1990 | #2,799 | 41 |
| 1980 | #3,992 | 19 |
| 1970 | #4,038 | 14 |
| 1960 | #1,887 | 36 |
| 1950 | #1,153 | 64 |
| 1940 | #660 | 110 |
| 1930 | #465 | 209 |
| 1920 | #299 | 471 |
| 1910 | #270 | 206 |
| 1900 | #233 | 183 |
| 1890 | #242 | 102 |
| 1880 | #186 | 65 |
How popular is Adelaide, counting every spelling?
Adelaide is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #311 for girls in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #289 for Adelaide on its own. Together these spellings went to 1,062 girls in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adelaide | 1,062 | #289 | 5,643 |
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 Adelaide?
1,062 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Adelaide (0.29 per 1,000 births). For a girl named Adelaide 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 8 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Adelaide.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Adelaide?
About 22,300 people born in the US named Adelaide are alive today, with a median age of 10; half are between 5 and 16. That makes Adelaide a young name: most people with it are children.
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.
Adelaide by state
How common Adelaide was among girls born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Maine (4.4×), New Hampshire (3.6×), Utah (3.6×), Idaho (3.0×), Rhode Island (2.6×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in California, Delaware, Florida.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Adelaide: their share of US girls followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Adelaide, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Adelaide · Sibling names for Adelaide
Questions about the name Adelaide
What does Adelaide mean?
Adelaide means “noble kind” (Germanic, French origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Adelaide?
Adelaide was the 289th most popular name for girls in 2025, given to 1,062 babies. Its best year was 1883, when it ranked 179th; the most babies were born in 2016 (1,240). Over the last ten years it has moved down 17 places. More babies were named Adelaide in the 2010s than in any other decade.
Is Adelaide a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a girl’s name given the name Adelaide in the US.
Where is Adelaide most popular?
In 2021–2025, Adelaide was most common in Maine (3.04 per 1,000 girls), followed by New Hampshire and Utah.