How to say it
AD · e · laide
/ˈæd.ə.leɪd/
Feminine
Adelaide
Noble kind
What it means
From the Germanic Adalheidis, adal ('noble') plus heid ('kind, sort'), so 'of noble sort.'
Adelaide comes from the Germanic Adalheidis, 'of noble kind,' and shares its root with Adeline, Alice, and the German short Heidi. A 10th-century empress saint carried it, and Queen Adelaide, wife of William IV, lent her name to the Australian city. It faded for much of the 20th century and is now firmly back with the vintage-revival set. Addie, Della, Heidi, and Ada all fall out of it as shorts.
Popularity over time
peaked at #179 in 1883, currently #289 in 2025.
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, names given to at least 5 babies in a year, 1880–present. See where the names are moving
Heads-up notes
- Nickname
Addie, Della, Ada, and even Heidi all derive from it.
- Spelling
Same noble-kind root as Adeline and Alice; Adelaide is the fullest, most formal form.
Who's worn it
Historical figures, characters, and public faces who share the name. The cultural surface, for whatever weight you want to give it.
- Queen Adelaide wife of William IV, namesake of Adelaide, Australia
- St. Adelaide 10th-century Holy Roman Empress and saint
Spelling variants
- Adelaida
- Adelheid
- Adélaïde
Names with the same feeling
See Adelaide from another angle
By meaning
By style