Girl's name
Ada
Say it AY-duh
Germanic origin noble
2 syllables
Where Ada is loved, common and rare
Common across Norway, the UK, Berlin and seven more places. Rare in four other German cities, Sweden, Italy and seven more places.
1 in 187 girls born in Northern Ireland in 2025
Norway 18thEngland and Wales 40thBerlin 41st
LovedCommonRare
Every place
In 25 of the 40 official lists, among them Norway (18th), England and Wales (40th) and Berlin (41st).
Show all 25 placesShow less
| Place | Rank | Girls | Share |
|---|---|---|---|
| Norway | 18th 2025 | 221 | 1 in 99 |
| England and Wales | 40th 2025 | 1,014 | 1 in 250 |
| Berlin city | 41st 2023 | 64 | about 1 in 227 |
| Ireland | 45th 2025 | 104 | 1 in 203 |
| Northern Ireland | 47th 2025 | 39 | 1 in 187 |
| Scotland | 51st 2025 | 76 | 1 in 235 |
| New Zealand | 74th 2025 | 50 | rank only |
| Cologne city | 74th 2023 | 17 | about 1 in 361 |
| British Columbia province | 88th 2023 | 31 | about 1 in 386 |
| Poland | 93rd 2025 | 205 | 1 in 584 |
| South Australia state | 96th 2025 | 16 | rank only |
| Munich city | 111th 2025 | 11 | about 1 in 381 |
| Sweden | 135th 2025 | 66 | about 1 in 609 |
| Italy | 161st 2024 | 144 | 1 in 1,244 |
| Switzerland | 171st 2025 | 42 | 1 in 809 |
| Catalonia region | 173rd 2025 | 24 | 1 in 803 |
| Ontario province | 227th 2024 | 53 | about 1 in 1,028 |
| Austria | 290th 2025 | 19 | 1 in 1,880 |
| The Netherlands | 345th 2025 | 40 | about 1 in 1,525 |
| France | 396th 2025 | 130 | 1 in 2,206 |
| Quebec province | 591st 2025 | 7 | about 1 in 3,715 |
| Turkey | 21st 2025 | 2,603 | rank only |
| Leipzig city | 128th 2025 | 4 | about 1 in 656 |
| Bonn city | 145th 2025 | 4 | about 1 in 754 |
| Rostock city | 166th 2025 | 1 | about 1 in 985 |
Rare, below the listed names: New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Spain, Hungary, Slovenia and Israel.
Not in a short top list, so no figure: Nova Scotia (top 21), Denmark (top 50), Finland (top 50), Iceland (top 10), Estonia (top 25), Moscow (top 61), Argentina (top 20) and Croatia (top 50).
Germany publishes no national statistics on first names. German figures here are city lists (Berlin, Munich, Cologne, Bonn, Leipzig, Rostock), never the country.
Sources: Statistics Norway (SSB) (Norway); Office for National Statistics (England and Wales); BerlinOnline GmbH; Landesamt für Bürger- und Ordnungsangelegenheiten (LABO) / Standesämter (Berlin); Central Statistics Office (CSO) (Ireland); NISRA (Northern Ireland); National Records of Scotland (Scotland); Department of Internal Affairs (DIA), SmartStart (New Zealand); Stadt Köln, Standesamt (offenedaten-koeln.de) (Cologne); BC Vital Statistics Agency (BC Data Catalogue) (British Columbia); Ministerstwo Cyfryzacji, rejestr PESEL (dane.gov.pl) (Poland); SA Attorney-General's Department, Births, Deaths and Marriages (data.sa.gov.au) (South Australia); Landeshauptstadt München, Statistisches Amt (opendata.muenchen.de) (Munich); Skatteverket (Swedish Tax Agency) (Sweden); ISTAT, Contanomi (Italy); Bundesamt für Statistik (BFS) / Office fédéral de la statistique (OFS) (Switzerland); Idescat (Institut d'Estadística de Catalunya) (Catalonia); Ontario Office of the Registrar General (Ontario Data Catalogue) (Ontario); Statistik Austria (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1) (Austria); Sociale Verzekeringsbank (SVB) (the Netherlands); INSEE, Fichier des prénoms (édition 2025) (France); Retraite Québec (Banque de prénoms, Données Québec) (Quebec); TÜİK (Türkiye İstatistik Kurumu), Nüfus İstatistikleri Portalı (Turkey); Stadt Leipzig, Standesamt (opendata.leipzig.de) (Leipzig); Bundesstadt Bonn, Standesamt (opendata.bonn.de) (Bonn); Hanse- und Universitätsstadt Rostock (opendata-hro.de) (Rostock). How we count, and every source
About the name
Ada began as a short form of Germanic names beginning with adal, 'noble', such as Adelaide. It is also a Latinized form of the Hebrew Adah, so the name has two separate roots.
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Two syllables, AY-duh, make it compact and strong. Adah is a related spelling, Adelaide and Adaline are longer forms, and Adalyn and Adalynn are modern relatives.
Ada ranks high in Norway and Turkey and is well used in England and Wales, Ireland and Northern Ireland. In the Ontario and British Columbia records it was at its height in the 1920s, and it is now rising in nine places while falling in only one. It is a vintage name that parents are clearly rediscovering.
Meaning, origin, pronunciation
- Pronounced
- AY-duh, 2 syllables
- Meaning
noble
- Origin
- Germanic
- Other spellings
- Adelaide
- Adaline
- Adah
- Adalyn
- Adalynn
- Adda
- Adalí
- Adala
Etymology
Short form of Germanic names beginning with adal (“noble”), such as Adelaide. Also Latinized form of Hebrew Adah.
From the Wiktionary entry, CC BY-SA 4.0, shortened.
Over time
Over five years: rising in 9 of 25 regions, falling in 1.
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Rank in each place since 1996; higher on the chart is more popular.
Ten years of ranks
Her rank each year, English-speaking regions first. A blank means no published rank for her that year.
| Region | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| England and Wales | 164 | 114 | 65 | 47 | 38 | 44 | 36 | 37 | 40 | 40 |
| Scotland | 153 | 149 | 72 | 59 | 47 | 70 | 52 | 45 | 44 | 51 |
| Northern Ireland | 137 | 190 | 92 | 66 | 78 | 55 | 37 | 35 | 47 | 47 |
| Ireland | 166 | 137 | 70 | 57 | 37 | 45 | 48 | 34 | 50 | 45 |
| Ontario | 390 | 349 | 250 | 206 | 150 | 155 | 229 | 165 | 227 | |
| British Columbia | 200 | 369 | 167 | 147 | 106 | 231 | 111 | 88 | ||
| Victoria | 94 | 88 | ||||||||
| South Australia | 163 | 121 | 87 | 78 | 96 | |||||
| New Zealand | 96 | 82 | 78 | 57 | 78 | 76 | 74 | |||
| Quebec | 822 | 646 | 810 | 491 | 810 | 457 | 612 | 591 | ||
| France | 1484 | 1467 | 1128 | 1112 | 705 | 695 | 570 | 451 | 419 | 396 |
| The Netherlands | 609 | 613 | 378 | 403 | 355 | 328 | 281 | 308 | 345 | |
| Austria | 321 | 240 | 373 | 374 | 282 | 254 | 205 | 239 | 274 | 290 |
| Switzerland | 424 | 210 | 269 | 343 | 280 | 245 | 212 | 205 | 308 | 171 |
| Berlin | 100 | 101 | 79 | 121 | 81 | 91 | 75 | 41 | ||
| Munich | 185 | 130 | 121 | 101 | 111 | 152 | 96 | 63 | 101 | 111 |
| Cologne | 155 | 168 | 191 | 238 | 160 | 94 | 83 | 74 | ||
| Bonn | 314 | 111 | 226 | 102 | 168 | 186 | 99 | 168 | 145 | |
| Leipzig | 92 | 102 | 263 | 71 | 116 | 132 | 157 | 130 | 92 | 128 |
| Rostock | 136 | 143 | 134 | 90 | 133 | 174 | 158 | 166 | ||
| Norway | 40 | 24 | 7 | 6 | 10 | 8 | 12 | 6 | 16 | 18 |
| Sweden | 245 | 231 | 210 | 189 | 170 | 156 | 130 | 118 | 128 | 135 |
| Catalonia | 117 | 108 | 135 | 154 | 137 | 153 | 244 | 167 | 227 | 173 |
| Italy | 230 | 198 | 209 | 191 | 177 | 155 | 170 | 148 | 161 | |
| Poland | 77 | 79 | 78 | 84 | 81 | 87 | 98 | 96 | 97 | 93 |
| Slovenia | 171 | |||||||||
| Turkey | 28 | 25 | 15 | 21 | 29 | 21 |
England and Wales, 1996 to 2025
| Year | Rank | Girls | per 100,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 40 | 1,014 | 400.3 |
| 2024 | 40 | 1,049 | 406.6 |
| 2023 | 37 | 1,089 | 424.5 |
| 2022 | 36 | 1,138 | 431.9 |
| 2021 | 44 | 1,058 | 386.1 |
| 2020 | 38 | 1,140 | 424.7 |
| 2019 | 47 | 1,028 | 367.1 |
| 2018 | 65 | 811 | 281.3 |
| 2017 | 114 | 470 | 157.1 |
| 2016 | 164 | 341 | 111.0 |
| 2015 | 187 | 293 | 95.1 |
| 2014 | 233 | 217 | 70.8 |
| 2013 | 280 | 168 | 54.5 |
| 2012 | 384 | 123 | 38.2 |
| 2011 | 386 | 121 | 37.7 |
| 2010 | 499 | 81 | 25.2 |
| 2009 | 547 | 71 | 22.7 |
| 2008 | 699 | 51 | 16.2 |
| 2007 | 919 | 33 | 10.8 |
| 2006 | 976 | 29 | 9.7 |
| 2005 | 951 | 28 | 9.7 |
| 2004 | 1617 | 13 | 4.5 |
| 2003 | 1628 | 12 | 4.3 |
| 2002 | 2301 | 7 | 2.6 |
| 2001 | 1520 | 12 | 4.5 |
| 2000 | 1831 | 9 | 3.3 |
| 1999 | 2189 | 7 | 2.5 |
| 1998 | 3142 | 4 | 1.4 |
| 1997 | 1543 | 11 | 3.8 |
| 1996 | 2683 | 5 | 1.7 |
Sources: Office for National Statistics (1996-2025), OGL v3.
Ontario and British Columbia since 1925
Half of the babies named Ada in Ontario and British Columbia since 1925 were born in or after 1981. First recorded in 1925. Her peak year there: 1927, at 199.3 per 100,000 girls.
Babies named Ada per 100,000 girls born in Ontario and British Columbia, by five-year period. Her 1927 peak is averaged into its five-year period, so the line sits below it.
Sources: Ontario Office of the Registrar General (Ontario Data Catalogue) (1917-2024), OGL-Ontario; BC Vital Statistics Agency (BC Data Catalogue) (1924-2023), OGL-BC.
Sister names for Ada
1 in 162 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Ada.
1 in 1,286 in England and Wales
Rose and fell with Ada.
1 in 240 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Ada.
1 in 251 in Northern Ireland
1 in 754 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Ada.
1 in 125 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Ada.
1 in 166 in Northern Ireland
Rose and fell with Ada.
1 in 126 in Ireland
Rose and fell with Ada.
1 in 187 in Northern Ireland
Rose and fell with Ada.
1 in 78 in Northern Ireland
Middle names for Ada
1 in 57 in Northern Ireland
Ada Grace
2-1 beats · initials AG
Changes the beat after Ada: 2 syllables, then 1 syllable.
1 in 71 in Scotland
Ada Olivia
2-4 beats · initials AO · Ada slides into Olivia: vowel meets vowel.
Changes the beat after Ada: 2 syllables, then 4 syllables. Ada slides into Olivia: vowel meets vowel.
1 in 99 in Scotland
Ada Sophia
2-3 beats · initials AS
Changes the beat after Ada: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 311 in Ireland
Ada Maria
2-3 beats · initials AM
Changes the beat after Ada: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 214 in Northern Ireland
Ada Rose
2-1 beats · initials AR
Changes the beat after Ada: 2 syllables, then 1 syllable.
1 in 78 in Northern Ireland
Ada Emily
2-3 beats · initials AE · Ada slides into Emily: vowel meets vowel.
Changes the beat after Ada: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables. Ada slides into Emily: vowel meets vowel.
1 in 491 in Ireland
Ada Julia
2-3 beats · initials AJ
Changes the beat after Ada: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
1 in 1,286 in England and Wales
Ada Miriam
2-3 beats · initials AM
Changes the beat after Ada: 2 syllables, then 3 syllables.
Same style as Ada
Names whose popularity rose and fell with hers across regions and decades.
1 in 1,111 in England and Wales
91% alike: moves with Ada across countries and decades.
1 in 334 in England and Wales
91% alike: moves with Ada across countries and decades.
1 in 571 in Ireland
90% alike: moves with Ada across countries and decades.
1 in 607 in Northern Ireland
90% alike: moves with Ada across countries and decades.
1 in 260 in Northern Ireland
90% alike: moves with Ada across countries and decades.
1 in 291 in Northern Ireland
89% alike: moves with Ada across countries and decades.
1 in 166 in Northern Ireland
89% alike: moves with Ada across countries and decades.
1 in 577 in Scotland
89% alike: moves with Ada across countries and decades.
Famous people named Ada
Ada Lovelace, Ada Yonath, Ada Negri, Ada Hegerberg, Ada of Caria, Ada Rohovtseva, Ada, Countess of Holland and Ada Blackjack.
Show all 8Show less
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English mathematician (1815–1852)
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Israeli structural biologist and Nobel laureate (1939–2026)
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Italian poet, writer, and teacher (1870–1945)
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Norwegian footballer born 1995
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4th-century BC Satrap and Queen of Caria
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Soviet and Ukrainian actress born 1937
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Countess regnant of Holland from 1203 to 1207 1188 to 1223
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Iñupiat explorer (1898–1983)
People: Wikidata (CC0), linked to Wikipedia in this page's language when an article exists.
Questions about Ada
5 questions, on how popular she is, what it means, how to say it, whether she is rising and sister names.
Show all 5 questionsShow less
How popular is Ada?
Her best rank is No. 18 in Norway in 2025, about 1 in 99 girls. She is in the published lists of 25 of our 40 regions.
What does Ada mean?
Wiktionary glosses Ada as "noble".
How do you pronounce Ada?
AY-duh, with 2 syllables.
Is Ada getting more popular?
Over five years: rising in 9 of 25 regions, falling in 1.
Which sister names go with Ada?
The deck's top five sisters for Ada: Evelyn, Miriam, Leah, Lucia and Helena. Each is scored on style, era, popularity and origin, with sound clashes flagged.