Given name & surname
Adeline
“of the nobility; serene; of good humor”
Adeline is a variant of Adela. One German interpretation is “of the nobility; serene; of good humor.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Adeline is a variant of Adela. One German interpretation is “of the nobility; serene; of good humor.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
In English use, Adeline is a diminutive of Adele. Adele has been associated with French and Germanic naming traditions.
Explained through its name family
How it developed
In French use, Adeline is used as a diminutive of Adèle.
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, Adeline is a diminutive 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
Adeline through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 80,838
- 26 boys · 80,812 girls
- Most popular year
- 2016
- 4,126 babies
- 2025
- 3,864
- #59 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −6%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 3,864 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 59 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 6.1% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 4,120 in 2016. In 2025, Texas had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (417). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 35,566 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.
Adeline’s family of names
In English usage, Adeline is a diminutive of Adela. In French usage, Adeline shares a linguistic root with the Italian form Adelina. In German usage, Adeline has a related form in Adele.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Adeline has relatives in 8 languages.
18 related names in 8 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 20
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 8
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Adeline
- Virginia WoolfEnglish modernist writer (1882–1941)
- Adeline GrayAmerican wrestler (born 1991)
- Adeline RudolphHong Kong-British actress (born 1995)
- Adeline Baud MugnierFrench alpine skierborn 1992
- Adeline AmesAmerican mycologist (1879-1976)
- Adeline BoutainFrench photographer and postcard publisher1862–1946
- Adeline DieudonnéBelgian authorborn 1982
- Adeline Ama BuabengGhana Storyteller and an actress
- Adeline Magloire ChancyHaitian educator, feminist, and politicianborn 1931
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Adeline, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Audree
“noble” · “strength”
>99% girls
Audrie
“noble” · “strength”
>99% girls
Audri
“noble” · “strength”
>99% girls
Autree
“of noble strength”
—
Audrée
“noble” · “strength”
>99% girls
Audriza
“noble” · “strength”
—
Audrissa
“noble” · “strength”
—
Audrysa
“noble” · “strength”
—