Baby Names US
girls' name ★ peaked 2015

Adela

Meaning noble Gender Girl Rank 2025 #1,151 Trend ↑ Rising 13%

Adela is a female given name, the latinate form of Adele, meaning 'noble' or 'serene'.

Rank 2025
#1,151
among girls · ↓53 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
201
named Adela · -10% vs 2024
How common
1 in 7,996
girls born in 2025
Peak year
2015
227 babies
All-time total
14,105
#1,340 all-time among girls
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Adela popularity over time

14,105 babies have been named Adela 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
0.050.10.150.218801900192019401960198020002020Peak 1889Girls

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 Per year Change Best rank
1880s 147 15 – #447
1890s 307 31 +109% #473
1900s 377 38 +23% #511
1910s 1,040 104 +176% #522
1920s 1,246 125 +20% #565
1930s 805 81 -35% #655
1940s 1,043 104 +30% #700
1950s 1,180 118 +13% #785
1960s 903 90 -23% #1,020
1970s 792 79 -12% #1,201
1980s 704 70 -11% #1,490
1990s 1,050 105 +49% #1,212
2000s 1,367 137 +30% #1,418
2010s 1,877 188 +37% #1,124
2020s (to 2025) 1,267 211 +13% #1,098

Where Adela 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 205 0.13 outside top 500
2027 209 0.13 outside top 500
2028 212 0.13 outside top 500
2029 215 0.13 outside top 500
2030 218 0.14 outside top 500

Where Adela is most popular

Girls named Adela per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.132 per 1,000. Strongest in California, Texas, and Illinois.

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 Adela 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
California 203 0.241 +84%
Texas 159 0.198 +50%
Illinois 41 0.179 +36%
Kansas 10 0.173 +32%
Washington 25 0.173 +32%
Colorado 19 0.170 +29%
Florida 63 0.147 +12%
Wisconsin 15 0.146 +11%
Arizona 20 0.143 +8%
Georgia 30 0.132 ≈ national
Virginia 22 0.129 ≈ national
North Carolina 29 0.127 ≈ national
Maryland 12 0.113 -14%
New York 40 0.101 -23%
Tennessee 16 0.101 -23%
Pennsylvania 21 0.089 -32%
Ohio 18 0.076 -42%
Oklahoma 5 0.068 -48%
Alabama 6 0.064 -51%
Indiana 7 0.050 -62%
Minnesota 5 0.046 -65%
New Jersey 8 0.044 -66%
Michigan 5 0.027 -79%
Alaska – – –
Arkansas – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Kentucky – – –
Louisiana – – –
Massachusetts – – –
Maine – – –
Missouri – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Oregon – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Carolina – – –
South Dakota – – –
Utah – – –
Vermont – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

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 Adela

Adela is uncommon for girls in the United States, ranked #1,151 in 2025 with 201 babies given the name. It is currently holding steady compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 14,105 American babies have been named Adela. Its peak came in 2015, when 227 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2010s.

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 Adela stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Adela?

The median living Adela is about 28 years old; half are between 11 and 60. An estimated 9,700 people named Adela are alive in the United States today.

median 28 020406080100

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

Adela year by year

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

Year Girls Girls rank
2025 201 #1,151
2024 224 #1,098
2023 215 #1,129
2022 222 #1,114
2021 205 #1,187
2020 200 #1,165
2019 193 #1,210
2018 188 #1,237
2017 184 #1,282
2016 202 #1,217
2015 227 #1,124
2014 184 #1,291
2013 209 #1,148
2012 210 #1,167
2011 152 #1,469
2010 128 #1,658
2009 165 #1,420
2008 150 #1,539
2007 143 #1,579
2006 141 #1,546
2005 149 #1,432
2004 120 #1,614
2003 119 #1,612
2002 135 #1,418
2001 119 #1,560
2000 126 #1,456
1995 97 #1,563
1990 93 #1,605
1985 62 #1,809
1980 77 #1,528
1975 70 #1,460
1970 94 #1,201
1965 91 #1,097
1960 111 #1,020
1955 120 #890
1950 122 #785
1945 110 #712
1940 83 #772
1935 86 #723
1930 110 #655
1925 113 #693
1920 161 #565
1915 116 #607
1910 55 #550
1905 36 #579
1900 38 #556
1895 34 #499
1890 23 #548
1885 13 #608
1880 9 #580

Famous people named Adela

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

  1. 1 Adela Noriega Mexican actress (born 1969) Contemporary
  2. 2 Adela of Normandy Adela of Normandy Countess of Blois from 1089 to 1102 1065–1137 · Medieval
  3. 3 Adela of France Countess of Flanders (1009–1079) Medieval
  4. 4 Adela of Champagne Adela of Champagne Queen of the Franks from 1160 to 1180 1140–1206 · Medieval
  5. 5 Adela of Flanders Queen of Denmark from 1080 to 1086 1065–1115 · Medieval
  6. 6 Adela Zamudio Adela Zamudio Bolivian poet, feminist, and educator (1854–1928) 19th century

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Adela?

The median living Adela is about 28 years old. Half of all living Adelas are between 11 and 60 years old.

How many people named Adela are alive today?

An estimated 9,700 people named Adela are alive in the United States, based on 14,105 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Adela mean?

Adela is a female given name, the latinate form of Adele, meaning 'noble' or 'serene'.

How popular is the name Adela in 2025?

Adela ranked #1,151 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 201 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Adela?

14,105 babies have been named Adela in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Adela most popular?

Adela peaked in 2015, when 227 newborns received the name.

Is Adela a boy or girl name?

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

Is the name Adela rising or falling?

Adela has been roughly stable over the past decade.

Will Adela become more popular?

Adela is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 218 girls named Adela in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Adela?

Well-known people named Adela include Adela Noriega (actor), Adela of Normandy (nobleman), Adela of France (politician).

Names like Adela

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

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