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Adela - Origin and Meaning of the name

Meaning of the name Adela
 
 

 


The girl name Adela [ 3 syll. a-de-la, ad-ela ] is pronounced as ahDEHLah KEY. Adela is largely used in English, German, Polish, Romanian, and Spanish. Its origin is Germanic. Derived from the word 'adal' which has the meaning noble, honorable. Adela is sometimes used as the short form of names beginning with 'Adel-', such as 'Adelheid'. These names were often bestowed by early Frankish nobility to emphasize their daughters' lineage and marriageability. The distinct name was introduced to England by the Normans in the 11th century. Adela was the name of the youngest daughter of William the Conqueror. The mother of William the Conqueror was named Adelicia or Adeliza. The name was also borne by Saint Adela, a 7th century Frankish princess who founded a monastery in France.

Adela has 24 variants that are used in both English and other languages. English variants of Adela include Adalaide, Adelaida (used in Spanish as well), Adele (used in German and Italian as well), Adelia (used in Spanish as well), Adelinde, Adella, Alene (used in Czech as well), and Aline (used in French, Irish, and Scottish as well). Other English variants include the pet forms Ada (used in German, Hungarian, Polish, and Romanian as well), Addi, Addie, Addy, and Della.

Variants of the name used in other languages include Adala (German), Adelina (Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish), Adeline (French), Adèle (French), Adéla (Czech), Akela (Hawaiian), Aleida (German and Dutch), Alida (Hungarian, Dutch, German, and Italian), Alina (French), and Alita (Spanish). The pet form Adelita (Spanish) is another foreign variant.

See also the related form, Adelaide (English and Italian).

Adela is a rare baby girl name. At the modest peak of its usage in 1911, 0.014% of baby girls were named Adela. It was #522 in rank then. The baby name has steeply slipped in popularity since then, and is now of very light use. In 2007, out of the family of girl names directly related to Adela, Alina (French) was the most popular.

Baby names that sound like Adela include Adéla (Czech), Adala (German), Adelais (French), Adella (English), Itala (Italian), Ottilie (German), Adele (English, German, and Italian), Adelia (English and Spanish), Adèle (French), Attilia (Italian), and Ottilia (German, Italian, and Latinized).

KEY: Pronunciation for Adela: AH as in "hut (HH.AH.T)" ; D as in "dee (D.IY)" ; EH as in "Ed (EH.D)" ; L as in "lee (L.IY)" ; AH as in "hut (HH.AH.T)"


Popularity Trend
for Adela
from 1900 to 2007Variant Popularity Chart
for Adela
in 2007

Meaning of Adela Meaning of Ada Meaning of Adelaide Meaning of Della Meaning of Addy Meaning of Addie Meaning of Addi Meaning of Alene Meaning of Aline Meaning of Adella Meaning of Adalaide Meaning of Adelaida Meaning of Adele Meaning of Adelia Meaning of Adelinde Meaning of Addison Meaning of Addie Meaning of Adrian Meaning of Magdalene Meaning of Lene Meaning of Magdalena