Adele
Adele was given to 362 girls in 2025, #751 among girls’ names; 42,373 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 17,700 Americans named Adele and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (42% of everyone recorded); the median is 45 years old and half are between 13 and 73.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Adele by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Adele mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Adele is “a female given name from the Germanic languages.” Its etymology gives the sense “noble” (meaning).
Borrowed from French Adèle, equivalent of Adela, from a Germanic root meaning “noble”. Compare athel, German edel, Old English æþele.
/əˈdɛl/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Adele?
#751 among girls’ names, 2025
Adele fell from #645 in 2015 to #751 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 0.25 to 0.23 per 1,000.
1,036 babies in 1918, the peak
Adele peaked in 1918, when 1,036 babies were given it (1,030 girls, #191 among girls’ names). The 362 births of 2025 are 35% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 362 | #751 | 0.23 |
| 2024 | 353 | #797 | 0.22 |
| 2023 | 334 | #825 | 0.21 |
| 2022 | 344 | #815 | 0.21 |
| 2021 | 340 | #816 | 0.21 |
| 2020 | 344 | #791 | 0.21 |
| 2019 | 368 | #760 | 0.22 |
| 2018 | 297 | #905 | 0.17 |
| 2017 | 347 | #791 | 0.20 |
| 2016 | 443 | #664 | 0.25 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 444 | #645 | 0.25 |
| 2014 | 366 | #764 | 0.20 |
| 2013 | 443 | #634 | 0.25 |
| 2012 | 564 | #536 | 0.32 |
| 2011 | 462 | #625 | 0.26 |
| 2010 | 287 | #910 | 0.16 |
| 2009 | 236 | #1,079 | 0.13 |
| 2008 | 156 | #1,495 | 0.08 |
| 2007 | 148 | #1,544 | 0.08 |
| 2006 | 111 | #1,833 | 0.06 |
| 2005 | 116 | #1,704 | 0.06 |
| 2004 | 112 | #1,725 | 0.06 |
| 2003 | 116 | #1,651 | 0.06 |
| 2002 | 90 | #1,953 | 0.05 |
| 2001 | 102 | #1,747 | 0.06 |
| 2000 | 94 | #1,823 | 0.05 |
| 1999 | 99 | #1,665 | 0.06 |
| 1998 | 83 | #1,842 | 0.05 |
| 1997 | 91 | #1,706 | 0.05 |
| 1996 | 79 | #1,838 | 0.05 |
| 1995 | 91 | #1,622 | 0.05 |
| 1994 | 91 | #1,644 | 0.05 |
| 1993 | 84 | #1,749 | 0.05 |
| 1992 | 72 | #1,923 | 0.04 |
| 1991 | 88 | #1,671 | 0.05 |
| 1990 | 92 | #1,613 | 0.05 |
| 1989 | 76 | #1,765 | 0.04 |
| 1988 | 80 | #1,613 | 0.04 |
| 1987 | 83 | #1,530 | 0.05 |
| 1986 | 74 | #1,601 | 0.04 |
| 1985 | 74 | #1,603 | 0.04 |
| 1984 | 87 | #1,362 | 0.05 |
| 1983 | 100 | #1,252 | 0.06 |
| 1982 | 87 | #1,399 | 0.05 |
| 1981 | 96 | #1,315 | 0.06 |
| 1980 | 89 | #1,396 | 0.05 |
| 1979 | 99 | #1,283 | 0.06 |
| 1978 | 77 | #1,474 | 0.05 |
| 1977 | 112 | #1,131 | 0.07 |
| 1976 | 97 | #1,172 | 0.07 |
| 1975 | 103 | #1,127 | 0.07 |
| 1974 | 102 | #1,133 | 0.07 |
| 1973 | 105 | #1,088 | 0.07 |
| 1972 | 99 | #1,116 | 0.07 |
| 1971 | 108 | #1,103 | 0.06 |
| 1970 | 104 | #1,126 | 0.06 |
| 1969 | 130 | #932 | 0.08 |
| 1968 | 112 | #984 | 0.07 |
| 1967 | 116 | #945 | 0.07 |
| 1966 | 165 | #763 | 0.10 |
| 1965 | 186 | #730 | 0.11 |
| 1964 | 191 | #752 | 0.10 |
| 1963 | 204 | #715 | 0.11 |
| 1962 | 241 | #650 | 0.12 |
| 1961 | 275 | #610 | 0.14 |
| 1960 | 272 | #605 | 0.13 |
| 1959 | 301 | #564 | 0.15 |
| 1958 | 294 | #575 | 0.15 |
| 1957 | 315 | #539 | 0.15 |
| 1956 | 362 | #490 | 0.18 |
| 1955 | 382 | #463 | 0.20 |
| 1954 | 423 | #423 | 0.22 |
| 1953 | 443 | #405 | 0.24 |
| 1952 | 477 | #376 | 0.26 |
| 1951 | 433 | #393 | 0.24 |
| 1950 | 433 | #389 | 0.25 |
| 1949 | 440 | #374 | 0.26 |
| 1948 | 470 | #360 | 0.28 |
| 1947 | 435 | #381 | 0.25 |
| 1946 | 399 | #381 | 0.25 |
| 1945 | 330 | #392 | 0.25 |
| 1944 | 332 | #387 | 0.25 |
| 1943 | 367 | #377 | 0.26 |
| 1942 | 355 | #378 | 0.26 |
| 1941 | 313 | #388 | 0.26 |
| 1940 | 322 | #366 | 0.28 |
| 1939 | 309 | #374 | 0.28 |
| 1938 | 370 | #328 | 0.34 |
| 1937 | 372 | #320 | 0.35 |
| 1936 | 359 | #325 | 0.35 |
| 1935 | 365 | #331 | 0.35 |
| 1934 | 396 | #314 | 0.38 |
| 1933 | 362 | #330 | 0.36 |
| 1932 | 486 | #282 | 0.46 |
| 1931 | 499 | #279 | 0.47 |
| 1930 | 558 | #266 | 0.50 |
| 1929 | 555 | #272 | 0.50 |
| 1928 | 637 | #254 | 0.55 |
| 1927 | 713 | #244 | 0.60 |
| 1926 | 682 | #252 | 0.58 |
| 1925 | 738 | #243 | 0.61 |
| 1924 | 812 | #232 | 0.65 |
| 1923 | 789 | #231 | 0.65 |
| 1922 | 900 | #217 | 0.75 |
| 1921 | 890 | #215 | 0.72 |
| 1920 | 944 | #206 | 0.79 |
| 1919 | 886 | #211 | 0.78 |
| 1918 | 1,030 | #191 | 0.89 |
| 1917 | 960 | #192 | 0.89 |
| 1916 | 902 | #198 | 0.86 |
| 1915 | 897 | #188 | 0.91 |
| 1914 | 709 | #187 | 0.93 |
| 1913 | 492 | #210 | 0.79 |
| 1912 | 418 | #220 | 0.75 |
| 1911 | 298 | #228 | 0.71 |
| 1910 | 288 | #224 | 0.73 |
| 1909 | 257 | #220 | 0.74 |
| 1908 | 192 | #250 | 0.57 |
| 1907 | 191 | #247 | 0.60 |
| 1906 | 199 | #220 | 0.67 |
| 1905 | 200 | #221 | 0.69 |
| 1904 | 163 | #243 | 0.59 |
| 1903 | 164 | #232 | 0.63 |
| 1902 | 172 | #230 | 0.65 |
| 1901 | 157 | #233 | 0.66 |
| 1900 | 186 | #230 | 0.62 |
| 1899 | 164 | #213 | 0.70 |
| 1898 | 165 | #229 | 0.64 |
| 1897 | 187 | #202 | 0.80 |
| 1896 | 152 | #223 | 0.64 |
| 1895 | 166 | #210 | 0.71 |
| 1894 | 151 | #217 | 0.68 |
| 1893 | 144 | #215 | 0.68 |
| 1892 | 123 | #235 | 0.58 |
| 1891 | 113 | #227 | 0.61 |
| 1890 | 133 | #208 | 0.70 |
| 1889 | 115 | #215 | 0.64 |
| 1888 | 116 | #213 | 0.65 |
| 1887 | 80 | #237 | 0.55 |
| 1886 | 79 | #232 | 0.55 |
| 1885 | 71 | #236 | 0.53 |
| 1884 | 71 | #229 | 0.55 |
| 1883 | 68 | #214 | 0.61 |
| 1882 | 64 | #208 | 0.59 |
| 1881 | 43 | #240 | 0.47 |
| 1880 | 41 | #240 | 0.45 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Adele a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Adele has been given almost only to girls: 11 boys in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Adele: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Adele, and how old are they?
17,700 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 42% of the 42,373 Americans ever recorded as Adele. The median Adele alive today is 45 years old; half are between 13 and 73.
The 2020 Census counted 19,901 people named Adele (19,802 women and girls, 99 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 18,066 born in the U.S. The Census count is 10% above 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 | 1,920 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 5,150 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 1,670 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 1,320 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 2,840 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 4,760 |
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 Adele born?
The states with the most babies named Adele are New York, Pennsylvania and California, with 45% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| New York | 8,563 | #304 | 2.6× |
| Pennsylvania | 3,146 | #615 | 1.2× |
| California | 2,933 | #616 | 1.1× |
| New Jersey | 2,678 | #405 | 2.3× |
| Illinois | 2,109 | #417 | 1.1× |
| Massachusetts | 1,562 | #564 | 1.3× |
| Ohio | 1,246 | #880 | 0.7× |
| Texas | 1,125 | #1,353 | 0.4× |
| Michigan | 1,098 | #736 | 0.8× |
| Louisiana | 1,058 | #777 | 1.4× |
Where Adele is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Adele is most over-represented in New York: since 1910 it was given 2.6 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 Adele 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 87,695 babies since 1880, Adele is the most given (48% of them). In 2025 it was given to 362 of their 1,505 babies (24%), the second most given that year.
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 Adele
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 Adele and names like it
- Compare Adele and AdelaBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1910sAdele peaked in 1918.
- New York’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Adele since 1910.
- Germanic namesWiktionary’s origin for Adele: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1918The year the most babies were named Adele.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Adele alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with AMost given first.