girls' name ★ peaked 1918

Ada

Meaning noble Gender Girl Rank 2025 #219 Trend ↑ Rising 10%

Short form of Germanic names beginning with adal (“noble”), such as Adelaide.

Rank 2025
#219
among girls · ↓28 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
1,401
named Ada · -11% vs 2024
How common
1 in 1,147
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1918
1,950 babies
All-time total
107,183
#358 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Ada popularity over time

107,183 babies have been named Ada since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
2.557.51018801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s 8,423 28 8,451 845 – #33
1890s 10,379 43 10,422 1,042 +23% #50
1900s 9,121 8 9,129 913 -12% #66
1910s 15,234 52 15,286 1,529 +67% #94
1920s 15,135 77 15,212 1,521 0% #136
1930s 8,492 29 8,521 852 -44% #185
1940s 5,884 6 5,890 589 -31% #246
1950s 4,306 – 4,306 431 -27% #352
1960s 2,874 – 2,874 287 -33% #514
1970s 1,924 5 1,929 193 -33% #668
1980s 1,606 11 1,617 162 -16% #858
1990s 1,600 – 1,600 160 -1% #969
2000s 3,395 12 3,407 341 +113% #570
2010s 9,037 7 9,044 904 +165% #208
2020s (to 2025) 9,495 – 9,495 1,583 +75% #179

Where Ada is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 girls Implied rank
2026 1,424 0.89 #213
2027 1,445 0.90 #210
2028 1,462 0.91 #208
2029 1,477 0.92 #207
2030 1,490 0.93 #205

Where Ada is most popular

Girls named Ada per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.978 per 1,000. Strongest in Maine, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Ada born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Maine 56 3.62 +270%
North Dakota 47 3.58 +266%
South Dakota 41 2.87 +194%
District of Columbia 32 2.70 +176%
Montana 36 2.66 +172%
Iowa 151 2.58 +164%
Wyoming 11 2.58 +164%
Nebraska 89 2.48 +153%
Wisconsin 235 2.28 +133%
Minnesota 246 2.28 +133%
New Hampshire 42 2.27 +133%
Alabama 176 1.87 +92%
Kansas 108 1.87 +91%
Missouri 224 1.86 +90%
Kentucky 155 1.81 +85%
Oregon 116 1.78 +82%
Massachusetts 209 1.73 +77%
Mississippi 78 1.67 +70%
Colorado 182 1.63 +67%
Michigan 287 1.58 +61%
North Carolina 357 1.57 +60%
Pennsylvania 366 1.55 +58%
Indiana 212 1.51 +54%
Tennessee 238 1.50 +54%
Washington 217 1.50 +54%
Utah 123 1.48 +51%
Arkansas 78 1.48 +51%
Louisiana 123 1.41 +44%
Virginia 229 1.34 +37%
Ohio 317 1.34 +37%
South Carolina 118 1.31 +34%
Illinois 294 1.28 +31%
West Virginia 33 1.26 +29%
Idaho 40 1.20 +22%
Maryland 120 1.13 +16%
Nevada 52 1.12 +14%
Georgia 254 1.12 +14%
Connecticut 62 1.07 +9%
New York 394 0.995 ≈ national
Alaska 7 0.813 -17%
Arizona 103 0.734 -25%
California 593 0.705 -28%
Florida 296 0.692 -29%
New Jersey 124 0.687 -30%
Oklahoma 50 0.679 -31%
Texas 505 0.628 -36%
Hawaii 7 0.611 -38%
New Mexico 12 0.493 -50%
Rhode Island 6 0.479 -51%
Delaware – – –
Vermont – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Ada

Ada is moderately common for girls in the United States, ranked #219 in 2025 with 1,401 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 107,183 American babies have been named Ada. Its peak came in 1918, when 1,950 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1910s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Ada stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Ada?

The median living Ada is about 18 years old; half are between 6 and 66. An estimated 39 thousand people named Ada are alive in the United States today.

median 18 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Ada year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 1,401 #219 – –
2024 1,575 #191 – –
2023 1,652 #179 – –
2022 1,657 #181 – –
2021 1,650 #180 – –
2020 1,560 #185 – –
2019 1,467 #208 – –
2018 1,302 #251 – –
2017 1,020 #319 – –
2016 968 #345 – –
2015 922 #355 – –
2014 871 #374 – –
2013 703 #435 – –
2012 634 #484 – –
2011 606 #489 – –
2010 544 #538 7 #9,705
2009 537 #570 – –
2008 529 #585 – –
2007 466 #638 – –
2006 404 #704 6 #10,679
2005 329 #789 – –
2004 306 #820 6 #9,964
2003 220 #1,038 – –
2002 214 #1,014 – –
2001 193 #1,096 – –
2000 197 #1,053 – –
1995 150 #1,156 – –
1990 177 #1,024 – –
1985 165 #945 5 #6,531
1980 166 #909 – –
1975 186 #761 5 #5,470
1970 238 #668 – –
1965 268 #583 – –
1960 351 #514 – –
1955 433 #423 – –
1950 471 #369 – –
1945 527 #301 – –
1940 665 #246 – –
1935 798 #214 7 #2,954
1930 1,040 #185 – –
1925 1,500 #161 7 #3,412
1920 1,823 #136 6 #3,816
1915 1,817 #114 9 #2,621
1910 960 #94 – –
1905 873 #80 – –
1900 1,101 #72 – –
1895 1,124 #58 9 #739
1890 1,074 #51 – –
1885 876 #43 5 #936
1880 652 #33 – –

Famous people named Ada

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Ada Lovelace Ada Lovelace English mathematician (1815–1852) 19th century
  2. 2 Ada Hegerberg Ada Hegerberg Norwegian footballer (born 1995) Contemporary
  3. 3 Ada Yonath Ada Yonath Israeli chemist (1939–2026) Contemporary
  4. 4 Ada Colau Ada Colau Spanish politician (born 1974) Contemporary
  5. 5 Ada of Caria Ada of Caria 4th-century BC Satrap and Queen of Caria -400–-326 · Antiquity
  6. 6 Ada Negri Ada Negri Italian poet (1870–1945) 19th century
  7. 7 Ada, Countess of Holland Countess regnant of Holland from 1203 to 1207 1188–1223 · Medieval
  8. 8 Aída Román Aída Román Mexican archer (born 1988) Contemporary
  9. 9 Ada Kok Ada Kok Dutch swimmer (born 1947) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Ada, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Ada?

The median living Ada is about 18 years old. Half of all living Adas are between 6 and 66 years old.

How many people named Ada are alive today?

An estimated 39 thousand people named Ada are alive in the United States, based on 107,183 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Ada mean?

Short form of Germanic names beginning with adal (“noble”), such as Adelaide.

How popular is the name Ada in 2025?

Ada ranked #219 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 1,401 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Ada?

107,183 babies have been named Ada in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Ada most popular?

Ada peaked in 1918, when 1,950 newborns received the name.

Is Ada a boy or girl name?

Ada is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Ada rising or falling?

Ada is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Ada become more popular?

Ada looks stable. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 1,490 girls named Ada in 2030, ranking around #205. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Ada?

Well-known people named Ada include Ada Lovelace (mathematician), Ada Hegerberg (soccer player), Ada Yonath (biologist).

Names like Ada

Names that sound and feel close to Ada: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Ada with similar names → More names starting with A →