Given name & surname
Adda
“adornment”·“ornament; beautiful addition to the family”
Adda is a variant of Adah. Interpretations include “adornment” (Hebrew) and “ornament; beautiful addition to the family” (Hebrew). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Meaning & origin
What it means
Adda is a variant of Adah. Interpretations include “adornment” (Hebrew) and “ornament; beautiful addition to the family” (Hebrew). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Adda is a variant of Adah. An origin associated with Adah is Hebrew.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
In German use, Adda is used as an affectionate form of Adelheid.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. Adda is a variant of Adah. The history of Adah gives this family its wider story. Adah appears in biblical tradition, giving it a longstanding religious and cultural context.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Adda through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 987
- 0 boys · 987 girls
- Most popular year
- 1888
- 27 babies
- 2025
- 16
- #6,838 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +100%
- Rising fast
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 16 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 6,838 among girls’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Its largest published annual count for girls was 27 in 1888. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 439 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Adda’s family of names
Adda is an affectionate form of Adelheid. In Old English usage, Adda shares a linguistic root with the Old Dutch form ADDO. In Welsh usage, Adda has a conventional equivalent in the English form Adam.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Adda has relatives in 4 languages.
4 related names in 4 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 3
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 9
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
- AdamEnglish
- Adamaequivalent
- Adamoequivalent
- 亞當Chinese
- Addocognate · odt
- Adánequivalent
- Ádámequivalent
- Adamusequivalent
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People named Adda
- Adda DjørupDanish poetborn 1972
- Adda GleasonAmerican actress (1888-1971)
- Adda RavnkildeDanish writer (1862-1883)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Adda, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
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“man” · “of the earth”
—
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“God is just” · “The Lord is just; an orna-i ment”
—
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“a woman graced with God's favor”
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“mother of a multitude; mother of nations”
—
Abrāā́m
“father of many nations”
—