Given name & surname
Adela
“of the nobility; serene; of good humor”
Adela is used as a given name and a surname. One German interpretation is “of the nobility; serene; of good humor.”
Original GermanAda
Meaning & origin
What it means
One German interpretation is “of the nobility; serene; of good humor.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is German.
How it developed
In English use, Adela is used as a form of Adele.
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. In English use, Adela is a Latinate form of 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
Adela through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 14,105
- 0 boys · 14,105 girls
- Most popular year
- 2015
- 227 babies
- 2025
- 201
- #1,151 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +10%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 201 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 1,151 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 10.3% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 227 in 2015. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (40). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 21,729 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.
Adela’s family of names
In Spanish usage, Adela has a diminutive in Adelina. In English usage, Adela developed from the French form Adèle. In Spanish usage, Adela has a conventional equivalent in the English form Ethel.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Adela has relatives in 17 languages. Lines run from its German roots to each of them.
Nicknames & forms 41
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Adelevariant · German, Italian
- Adelinediminutive · English
- Adalinevariant
- Adavariant · German, English
- Adalynvariant
- Adelaidevariant
- Adelinadiminutive · Spanish
- Adelynnvariant
Show 33 moreShow fewer
- Dellavariant · English
- Addievariant
- Adalinavariant
- Adilenevariant
- Adeliavariant · Spanish
- Adellavariant
- Adelitavariant
- Adalaidevariant
- Adellevariant
- Adalivariant
- Adelievariant
- Adalenevariant
- Adalizvariant
- Adelheidvariant · German
- Adyvariant
- Adelisevariant
- Adaliciavariant
- Adelisavariant
- Adelheidevariant
- Adeliciavariant
- Adeladevariant
- Adelaydevariant
- Adelaidvariant
- Adalaydevariant
- Addelalikely variant
- Gadelvariant · ceb
- Adelkadiminutive · Slovak
- Adelytevariant
- Adelindavariant
- Adelajdavariant
- Adalaidvariant
- Adalheidavariant
- Adelciadiminutive · Polish
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 18
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Adela
- Adela NoriegaMexican actressborn 1969
- Adela PankhurstBritish-Australian suffragette and political activist1885–1961
- Lady Adelatribal chief1847–1924
- Adela of PfalzelCatholic saint and royal princess660–734
- Adela Rogers St. JohnsAmerican journalist, novelist, and screenwriter (1894-1988)
- Adelaide of VohburgQueen of Germany from 1152 to 11531127–1187
- Violet NicolsonEnglish poet (1865–1904)
- Adela MilčinovićCroatian writer (1879-1968)
- Adela RazAfghan ambassador to the United Statesborn 1986
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
Similar names
If you love Adela, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Audris
“noble” · “strength”
>99% girls
Adie
“jeweled ornament” · “noble and kind”
10% boys · 90% girls
Audree
“noble” · “strength”
>99% girls
Audrie
“noble” · “strength”
>99% girls
Audri
“noble” · “strength”
>99% girls
Audriza
“noble” · “strength”
—
Audrissa
“noble” · “strength”
—
Audrysa
“noble” · “strength”
—