Given name
Adlai
“God is just”·“The Lord is just; an orna-i ment”·“my ornament”
Adlai is used as a given name. Interpretations include “God is just” (Hebrew), “The Lord is just; an orna-i ment” (Hebrew), and “my ornament” (Hebrew). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Original Hebrewעדלי
Meaning & origin
What it means
Interpretations include “God is just” (Hebrew), “The Lord is just; an orna-i ment” (Hebrew), and “my ornament” (Hebrew). These may reflect different naming traditions.
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Hebrew.
The story
The name appears in biblical tradition, giving it a longstanding religious and cultural context.
In the Bible
In the Bible, the name Adlai appears in 1 Chronicles 27:20.
From biblical name research
Adlai through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 696
- 608 boys · 88 girls
- Most popular year
- 1952
- 39 babies
- 2025
- 13
- #11,956 for girls · #10,719 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −24%
- Easing
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 7 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 11,956 among girls’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Its largest published annual count for girls was 9 in 2014. It also appeared in 6 birth records for boys in 2025. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 674 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.
Adlai’s family of names
Adlai has a related form in Atlee. Adlai has a related form in Adley. Adlai has a related form in Atley.
The ring: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 17
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
People named Adlai
- Adlai Stevenson IIAmerican politician and diplomat (1900–1965); 31st governor of Illinois from 1949 to 1953 (1900–1965)
- Adlai Stevenson IAmerican politician (1835–1914); Vice President of the United States from 1893 to 1897
- Adlai Stevenson IIIDemocratic U.S. Senator from Illinois from 1970 to 19811930–2021
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Adlai, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Ike
“full of laughter” · “a man from France; one who is free”
>99% boys
Dan
“he judged”
97% boys · 3% girls
Attai
“timely” · “opportune”
80% boys · 20% girls
Buz
“contempt”
>99% boys
Ahasbai
“i flee to the Lord” · “or let me hide”
—
Ezbai
“scrubber” · “cleaner”
>99% boys
Uthai
“help of Yah” · “bent by Yah”
>99% boys
Bartholomew
“son of Talmai” · “the son of the farmer”
>99% boys