Total births
42,362
Girls' name · since 1880
Adele
42,362 babies named Adele in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1918. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #797
- among girls today
- 42,362
- born since 1880
- 1920s
- peak decade
- 96%
- more common than other girls
Yes -- Adele is the #797 most popular girls' name in the U.S. today, with 42,362 recorded since 1880.
Social Security Administration records show Adele recorded 42,362 times among girls since 1880, holding rank #797 nationally today, ahead of 96% of girls, peaking in the 1920s. This profile derives year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #797 among girls today
- 42,362 born since 1880
- 1920s peak decade
- 96% more common than other girls
Data updated Jun 2026
The verdict
Adele is currently the #797 girls' name in America, more common than 96% of girls - 42,362 born since 1880, peaking in the 1920s.
- #797
- among girls today
- 42,362
- born since 1880
- 1920s
- peak decade
- 96%
- more common than other girls
Adele vs. every other girls name in current SSA rankings
#797
of 17,726 girls in use
More common than 96% of names given to girls today.
1920s
Peak decade
18% of everyone ever named Adele was born in this single decade.
1918
Single peak year
1,030 babies were named Adele in 1918 - its busiest year on record.
How Adele compares
42,362 Top 4% higher than 96% of 17,726 names currently given to girls
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.
Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data
How the numbers stack up
Adele's all-time total is 111x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Adele | Median girls name (Emerly) | #1 girls name (Olivia) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 42,362 | 382 | 567,345 |
| Peak-year births | 1,030 | 48 | 19,840 |
Adele's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Adele splits its recorded history at 1953: 34% of all births land in the more recent half, 66% in the earlier half, leaning more toward its earlier era than today's. The single quietest year was 1880 (41 births) -- compare that against the 1918 peak of 1,030 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.
Adele at a glance
Top 1,000 girls' namePeak year
1918
Current rank
#797
Active since
1880
Adele popularity over time - girls
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1918)
- 1,030
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Adele popularity over time - boys
11 total births recorded since 1908 (Adele as boys' name)
Adele by decade
Total births in each ten-year window, peak vs trough at a glance
1920s was Adele's strongest decade.
7,660 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 18% of all-time use.
Adele births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 748
1880s
748 births
- 1890s 1,498
1890s
1,498 births
- 1900s 1,881
1900s
1,881 births
- 1910s
1910s
6,880 births
- 1920s
1920s
7,660 births
- 1930s
1930s
4,076 births
- 1940s
1940s
3,763 births
- 1950s
1950s
3,863 births
- 1960s 1,892
1960s
1,892 births
- 1970s 1,006
1970s
1,006 births
- 1980s 846
1980s
846 births
- 1990s 870
1990s
870 births
- 2000s 1,281
2000s
1,281 births
- 2010s
2010s
4,021 births
- 2020s 2,077
2020s
2,077 births
What this shows Peak: 1920s at 7,660 births (18% of all-time use).
How Adele compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Adele's total volume
Adele vs 15 similarly-sized girls names
Adele by state
Where Adele concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | New York | | 8,563 | 20.2% |
| #2 | Pennsylvania | | 3,146 | 7.4% |
| #3 | California | | 2,933 | 6.9% |
| #4 | New Jersey | | 2,678 | 6.3% |
| #5 | Illinois | | 2,109 | 5.0% |
| #6 | Massachusetts | | 1,562 | 3.7% |
| #7 | Ohio | | 1,246 | 2.9% |
| #8 | Texas | | 1,125 | 2.7% |
New York share of Adele's total US births 20.2%
Even split
8,563 of 42,362 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 47 reporting states.
Adele appears in 47 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Adele? ▼
Adele has been given to 42,362 babies in the U.S. since 1880, according to SSA data. Among girls, it ranks #797 as of the latest data. 1,030 babies were born in 1918, its single highest year.
When was Adele most popular? ▼
Adele was most popular in the 1920s decade with 7,660 total births. The single peak year was 1918.
Where is Adele most popular? ▼
The top states for the name Adele are New York (8,563 births), Pennsylvania (3,146 births), California (2,933 births).
How long has the name Adele been used? ▼
Adele has been recorded in Social Security data since 1880, spanning 146 years of data through 2025.
What names are similar to Adele? ▼
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Adeline, Adelaide, Adelyn, Adelina, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for girls.
What to do with Adele's data
- Adele's decade-level peak was the 1920s (7,660 total births); usage has since declined to 2,077 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- New York records the most Adeles (8,563 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. New York names
- Weighing it against an alternative? Put two names side by side. Compare names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Adele
Nearby Names Like Adele
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Adele
Adeline Girl
#58 80,812 births
Adelaide Girl
#272 35,007 births
Adelyn Girl
#314 23,612 births
Adelina Girl
#341 16,762 births
Adelynn Girl
#450 15,023 births
Compare Adele side by side: Adele vs Adeline Adele vs Adelaide Adele vs Adelyn
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Adele
Zaylee #796
5,450 births · Peak 2018
Erin #798
316,575 births · Peak 1983
Yaretzi #795
13,609 births · Peak 2012
Robin #799
291,961 births · Peak 1961
Yareli #794
10,702 births · Peak 2009
Brynleigh #800
4,107 births · Peak 2022
Aila #793
4,268 births · Peak 2021
Pearl #801
159,088 births · Peak 1918
Data Sources
Data as of June 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).
According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.
Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1880–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).
State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).
Cite this page
NameAlmanac Editorial. "Adele: #797 Girls' Name - 42,362 Births, Peak 1918." NameAlmanac. Accessed via https://namealmanac.com/name/adele. Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.
Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Adele draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of June 2026.