Given name & surname · also Hebrew
Adel
“God is eternal”·“a highborn man”
Adel is used as a given name and a surname. Interpretations include “God is eternal” and “a highborn man”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Original GermanAdam
Meaning & origin
What it means
Interpretations include “God is eternal” and “a highborn man”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Where it comes from
This spelling has been associated with Hebrew and German naming traditions.
How it developed
From Proto-Germanic *aþalaz, from German Adel.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1888. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin. In English use, Adel has a related form in Adele. The history of Adele gives this family its wider story. Adele was borne by a daughter of William the Conqueror who married Stephen of Blois and was later revered as a saint. A character in Johann Strauss’s Die Fledermaus helped bring the name back into English use in the late nineteenth century; Dornford Yates’s novels gave it another literary association in the 1930s.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Adel through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 3,002
- 1,508 boys · 1,494 girls
- Most popular year
- 2006
- 65 babies
- 2025
- 53
- #4,355 for girls · #4,708 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −3%
- Steady
Boys, girls and both
The balance of boys and girls given this name has shifted over time. Recent births are 63% boys.
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 32 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 4,355 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 25.8% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. It also appeared in 21 birth records for boys in 2025. In 2025, New York had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (6). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 6,282 as a first name in 2020; 839 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Adel’s family of names
In Finnish usage, Adel has a short form in AATO. In English usage, Adel has a related form in Adele. In English usage, Adel has a related form in Adil.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Adel has relatives in 5 languages. Lines run from its Hebrew roots to each of them.
8 related names in 5 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 7
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 6
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Adel
- Adil RamiFrench footballer (born 1985)
- Adil Abdul-MahdiIraqi politicianborn 1942
- Adil HussainIndian actor of Iraqi originborn 1963
- Adel TaarabtMoroccan footballer (born 1989)
- Adel ShahThe second Afsharid king (1747–1748)1719–1749
- Adel EmamEgyptian actor (born 1940)
- Adil OsmanovMoldavian judokaborn 2000
- Adel ChedliTunisian and French association football playerborn 1976
- Adil ÇarçaniAlbanian politician (1922-1997)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Adel, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Jael
“resembling a mountain goat”
49% boys · 51% girls
Audie
“the last daughter born” · “of noble strength”
66% boys · 34% girls
Autry
“of noble strength”
65% boys · 35% girls
Arien
“a poet or musician”
70% boys · 30% girls
Bless
Bless is a surname from German.
67% boys · 33% girls
Shel
“our son”
43% boys · 57% girls
Sian
“God is gracious”
55% boys · 45% girls
Rollins
“from the renowned land”
56% boys · 44% girls