Adela
Adela was given to 201 girls in 2025, #1,151 among girls’ names; 14,105 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 9,430 Americans named Adela and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (67% of everyone recorded); the median is 28 years old and half are between 12 and 59.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Adela by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Adela mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Adela is “a female given name from the Germanic languages.” Its etymology gives the sense “noble” (*aþalaz).
Latinate form of French Adèle, short form of Germanic compound names beginning with Proto-Germanic *aþalaz (“noble”). Compare Old English æþele, English athel.
/ˈæ.də.lə/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Adela?
#1,151 among girls’ names, 2025
Adela fell from #1,124 in 2015 to #1,151 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born held at 0.13 per 1,000.
227 babies in 2015, the peak
Adela peaked in 2015, when 227 girls were given it, #1,124 among girls’ names. The 201 births of 2025 are 89% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 201 | #1,151 | 0.13 |
| 2024 | 224 | #1,098 | 0.14 |
| 2023 | 215 | #1,129 | 0.13 |
| 2022 | 222 | #1,114 | 0.14 |
| 2021 | 205 | #1,187 | 0.12 |
| 2020 | 200 | #1,165 | 0.12 |
| 2019 | 193 | #1,210 | 0.11 |
| 2018 | 188 | #1,237 | 0.11 |
| 2017 | 184 | #1,282 | 0.11 |
| 2016 | 202 | #1,217 | 0.11 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 227 | #1,124 | 0.13 |
| 2014 | 184 | #1,291 | 0.10 |
| 2013 | 209 | #1,148 | 0.12 |
| 2012 | 210 | #1,167 | 0.12 |
| 2011 | 152 | #1,469 | 0.09 |
| 2010 | 128 | #1,658 | 0.07 |
| 2009 | 165 | #1,420 | 0.09 |
| 2008 | 150 | #1,539 | 0.08 |
| 2007 | 143 | #1,579 | 0.07 |
| 2006 | 141 | #1,546 | 0.07 |
| 2005 | 149 | #1,432 | 0.08 |
| 2004 | 120 | #1,613 | 0.07 |
| 2003 | 119 | #1,611 | 0.07 |
| 2002 | 135 | #1,417 | 0.08 |
| 2001 | 119 | #1,559 | 0.07 |
| 2000 | 126 | #1,454 | 0.07 |
| 1999 | 112 | #1,523 | 0.06 |
| 1998 | 152 | #1,210 | 0.09 |
| 1997 | 107 | #1,512 | 0.06 |
| 1996 | 95 | #1,613 | 0.05 |
| 1995 | 97 | #1,559 | 0.06 |
| 1994 | 107 | #1,473 | 0.06 |
| 1993 | 97 | #1,575 | 0.05 |
| 1992 | 85 | #1,736 | 0.05 |
| 1991 | 105 | #1,488 | 0.06 |
| 1990 | 93 | #1,601 | 0.05 |
| 1989 | 85 | #1,625 | 0.05 |
| 1988 | 57 | #2,046 | 0.03 |
| 1987 | 72 | #1,677 | 0.04 |
| 1986 | 75 | #1,587 | 0.04 |
| 1985 | 62 | #1,808 | 0.04 |
| 1984 | 63 | #1,726 | 0.04 |
| 1983 | 69 | #1,608 | 0.04 |
| 1982 | 63 | #1,755 | 0.04 |
| 1981 | 81 | #1,490 | 0.05 |
| 1980 | 77 | #1,528 | 0.05 |
| 1979 | 86 | #1,420 | 0.05 |
| 1978 | 77 | #1,473 | 0.05 |
| 1977 | 74 | #1,483 | 0.05 |
| 1976 | 80 | #1,343 | 0.05 |
| 1975 | 70 | #1,460 | 0.05 |
| 1974 | 85 | #1,268 | 0.06 |
| 1973 | 77 | #1,312 | 0.05 |
| 1972 | 73 | #1,364 | 0.05 |
| 1971 | 76 | #1,389 | 0.05 |
| 1970 | 94 | #1,201 | 0.05 |
| 1969 | 72 | #1,338 | 0.04 |
| 1968 | 70 | #1,324 | 0.04 |
| 1967 | 64 | #1,372 | 0.04 |
| 1966 | 79 | #1,209 | 0.05 |
| 1965 | 91 | #1,097 | 0.05 |
| 1964 | 100 | #1,091 | 0.05 |
| 1963 | 108 | #1,026 | 0.06 |
| 1962 | 108 | #1,038 | 0.05 |
| 1961 | 100 | #1,095 | 0.05 |
| 1960 | 111 | #1,019 | 0.05 |
| 1959 | 105 | #1,035 | 0.05 |
| 1958 | 104 | #1,017 | 0.05 |
| 1957 | 121 | #935 | 0.06 |
| 1956 | 127 | #884 | 0.06 |
| 1955 | 120 | #889 | 0.06 |
| 1954 | 121 | #864 | 0.06 |
| 1953 | 129 | #808 | 0.07 |
| 1952 | 106 | #896 | 0.06 |
| 1951 | 125 | #793 | 0.07 |
| 1950 | 122 | #784 | 0.07 |
| 1949 | 111 | #834 | 0.06 |
| 1948 | 142 | #699 | 0.08 |
| 1947 | 119 | #796 | 0.07 |
| 1946 | 122 | #732 | 0.08 |
| 1945 | 110 | #712 | 0.08 |
| 1944 | 100 | #762 | 0.08 |
| 1943 | 71 | #922 | 0.05 |
| 1942 | 95 | #780 | 0.07 |
| 1941 | 90 | #751 | 0.07 |
| 1940 | 83 | #772 | 0.07 |
| 1939 | 79 | #766 | 0.07 |
| 1938 | 74 | #821 | 0.07 |
| 1937 | 57 | #910 | 0.05 |
| 1936 | 71 | #800 | 0.07 |
| 1935 | 86 | #723 | 0.08 |
| 1934 | 68 | #815 | 0.07 |
| 1933 | 78 | #745 | 0.08 |
| 1932 | 101 | #670 | 0.09 |
| 1931 | 81 | #748 | 0.08 |
| 1930 | 110 | #655 | 0.10 |
| 1929 | 105 | #683 | 0.09 |
| 1928 | 110 | #666 | 0.10 |
| 1927 | 118 | #659 | 0.10 |
| 1926 | 111 | #690 | 0.09 |
| 1925 | 113 | #693 | 0.09 |
| 1924 | 130 | #656 | 0.10 |
| 1923 | 121 | #674 | 0.10 |
| 1922 | 120 | #661 | 0.10 |
| 1921 | 157 | #573 | 0.13 |
| 1920 | 161 | #565 | 0.13 |
| 1919 | 151 | #562 | 0.13 |
| 1918 | 163 | #554 | 0.14 |
| 1917 | 138 | #572 | 0.13 |
| 1916 | 154 | #533 | 0.15 |
| 1915 | 116 | #607 | 0.12 |
| 1914 | 74 | #676 | 0.10 |
| 1913 | 61 | #667 | 0.10 |
| 1912 | 65 | #608 | 0.12 |
| 1911 | 63 | #522 | 0.15 |
| 1910 | 55 | #550 | 0.14 |
| 1909 | 49 | #541 | 0.14 |
| 1908 | 35 | #649 | 0.10 |
| 1907 | 38 | #601 | 0.12 |
| 1906 | 44 | #515 | 0.15 |
| 1905 | 36 | #579 | 0.12 |
| 1904 | 41 | #511 | 0.15 |
| 1903 | 28 | #628 | 0.11 |
| 1902 | 33 | #571 | 0.12 |
| 1901 | 35 | #513 | 0.15 |
| 1900 | 38 | #556 | 0.13 |
| 1899 | 36 | #490 | 0.15 |
| 1898 | 39 | #491 | 0.15 |
| 1897 | 29 | #554 | 0.12 |
| 1896 | 28 | #576 | 0.12 |
| 1895 | 34 | #499 | 0.15 |
| 1894 | 35 | #475 | 0.16 |
| 1893 | 32 | #473 | 0.15 |
| 1892 | 23 | #579 | 0.11 |
| 1891 | 28 | #483 | 0.15 |
| 1890 | 23 | #548 | 0.12 |
| 1889 | 29 | #454 | 0.16 |
| 1888 | 21 | #548 | 0.12 |
| 1887 | 17 | #537 | 0.12 |
| 1886 | 8 | #828 | 0.06 |
| 1885 | 13 | #608 | 0.10 |
| 1884 | 11 | #640 | 0.09 |
| 1883 | 15 | #499 | 0.13 |
| 1882 | 17 | #447 | 0.16 |
| 1881 | 7 | #680 | 0.08 |
| 1880 | 9 | #580 | 0.10 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Adela a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Adela has been recorded only for girls: SSA lists no boys with the name in 146 years of records (it lists a name only in years with 5 or more babies of a sex).
Girls and boys named Adela: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Adela, and how old are they?
9,430 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 67% of the 14,105 Americans ever recorded as Adela. The median Adela alive today is 28 years old; half are between 12 and 59.
The 2020 Census counted 21,729 people named Adela (21,669 women and girls, 60 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 8,771 born in the U.S. The Census count is 2.5 times that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 458 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 1,700 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 1,160 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 1,270 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 2,210 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 2,640 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Adela born?
The states with the most babies named Adela are California, Texas and Florida, with 51% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 40 | #766 | 2.2× |
| Texas | 26 | #1,062 | 3.9× |
| Florida | 11 | #1,246 | 0.6× |
| Illinois | 10 | #852 | 0.6× |
| New York | 8 | #1,527 | 0.5× |
| Georgia | 8 | #1,078 | 0.2× |
| Colorado | 8 | #635 | 0.3× |
| North Carolina | 7 | #1,141 | 0.2× |
| Wisconsin | 6 | #701 | 0.3× |
| Virginia | 6 | #1,041 | 0.2× |
Where Adela is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Adela is most over-represented in New Mexico: since 1910 it was given 4.8 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Adela with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 8 names spelled alike, given to 77,908 babies since 1880, Adela is the second most given (18% of them). In 2025 it was given to 201 of their 906 babies (22%), again the second most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Adela
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Adela and names like it
- Compare Adela and AdeleBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 2010sAdela peaked in 2015.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Adela since 1910.
- Germanic namesWiktionary’s origin for Adela: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 2015The year the most babies were named Adela.
- The names of Generation AlphaMost people named Adela alive today were born 2013-2025.
- Names starting with AMost given first.