Adelaide names range from the wildly popular Adeline to rarities like Elke.
That means Adelaide rivals fellow classic girl names Elizabeth, Katherine, and Margaret for sheer number of possible variants.
As girl names go, Adelaide remains a little outside the mainstream, barely in the US Top 300. But it makes a great alternative to Charlotte, a sister for Eleanor.
The name comes from Adalheidis, from the Germanic adal – noble – and heid – type. Names starting with the adal element abound, for both women and men. (Just check the As here.)
Royals and saints wore the name, including a wife of Holy Roman Emepror Otto I – who was both. Those are the ingredients required for a name to inspire many a variation: worn by royals and saints, baked for more than a millennium.
FROM THE HISTORY BOOKS
ADALAIS and ADELIAS
A -lace ending rather than a -lade one, this name appears in the history books. A handful of well-born medieval women answered to the name, from the 700s into the 1200s. Though, since many were French, it’s possible that they pronounced the name ah deh LAY.
ADELHEID and ADELHEIT
They’re mostly confined to history books these days, but these evolutions of the name make it easier to trace the origins of Heidi.
ADELIZA
Sister to William the Conqueror, she’s sometimes recorded as Adelaide. Adeliza held the title of countess in her own right.
ALEYDIS
An obscure variant, Aleydis garnered some attention when Tracy Chevalier gave it to a character in 1999’s Girl with a Pearl Earring. Though she’s not the girl in question; that was Griet, a servant. Aleydis was, in fiction and reality, one of Vermeer’s many children.
NICKNAMES
ADDIE
It’s a go-to nickname for lots of the Adelaide names, as well as nearly anything starting with Ad. But it also fits in with names like Sadie and Hattie.
ALEIDA and ALIDA
A Dutch nickname for Adelaide.
ALEIT
Along with Ahlet, Aleit developed in German as a contracted form of Adelheit. The name was imported to Scandinavia, and continued to evolve.
DELIA
Delia might be short for Cordelia, or possibly a cousin to Delilah. But Adelaide-called-Delia works every bit as well.
DELLA
Ella, Stella, Bella … why not Della?
ELKE
Adding a -ke or -ka forms a diminutive in several languages. It’s not a stretch from Adelke to Elke. The Germans pronounce it more like el keh, but it’s so rare in English that it might easily become el kee, which seems to be the Spanish version, too.
HEIDI
Part pig-tailed little girl in the Swiss Alps, part supermodel turned business mogul, Heidi packs a punch. After a good run in the 1970s and 80s, Heidi might be due for hibernation, but it’s holding steady so far.
INDEPENDENT CLASSICS
ADA
Ada doesn’t feel like one of the Adelaide names. It stands on its own, a mini name with plenty of namesakes and an independent story.
ADELE
Spare, tailored Adele re-entered the US popularity charts thanks to the powerhouse singer. But it doesn’t seem to have gained traction the way other Adelaide names have.
ADELINA
Just add -ina to any of the Adel- names.
ADELINE
Adeline is a Top 100 pick. Factor in Adaline, Adalyn, Adalynn, Addilyn, Addilynn, Adelyn, Adelynn – all Top 1000 spellings – and this name is powerfully popular indeed.
ALICE
A classic in its own right, storybook Alice brings to mind many a historical and fictional figure. It comes from contracting Adalheidis to Adalais, and then Alais … Alice.
ALINA
There’s more than one backstory for Alina, but it certainly belongs with the Adelaide names – at least some of the time.
FORMER FAVORITES
ALICIA
Take Alice, add the -ia ending, and you’ll arrive at Alicia. Widely popular in Europe, the name spent the 1970s, 80s, and 90s in the US Top 100, too.
ALISON and ALLISON
It’s tempting to lump Alison and Allison with surname names ending with -son. Except -on was sometimes used as a diminutive ending, like -ette or -ina. It survives in very few names, but this is one of the them.
ALYSSA
Take Alicia, mix in a dose of the alyssum flower, and this 90s favorite is the result.
OBSCURITIES
ADELA
Adele with an ‘a’ ending, Adela has been out of the US Top 1000 since the late 1950s.
ADELIA
Add a stylish -ia ending to Adele, and suddenly Adelia feels like a cross between chart-topping Amelia and the Adelaide names.
ADELIE
You might hear this name in connection with penguins. French naval officer and amateur explorer Jules d’Urville named a species of smallish birds on the Antarctic coast after his wife, Adelie, back in 1840. It’s probably remained rare in English because it blurs with Natalie-hold-the-N, or maybe sounds like an Ada-Lee smoosh.
ADELITA
Take Adela and add the Spanish diminutive -ita.
AILIS
Pronounced AY leesh or sometimes AY lish, depending on your accent, Ailis is a Scottish and Irish form of Alice.
ALETTA and ALETTE
Parents might have invented either of these names, though they seem to have come from Ahlet.
ALIX
Alix is a medieval French form of Alice, which puts it two generations removed from Adelaide, but still part of the same family.
What do you think of Adelaide names? Are there any variations that you would use? Which are your favorites?
First published on November 15, 2013, this post was revised substantially and re-posted on June 30, 2020.
I love Adelais, it has been on my list for a middle name for some time. Although I’ve thought about changing the spelling to make the pronunciation more clear…Adelay.
Thank you for posting this Abby! You have read my mind. Adelaide is my top name when I have a daughter. I had a relative who was called Ada but was an Adelaide. My favorites are Adelaide, Adelais, Aleydis, Alix, Ailis and Delia. I agree it has soo many variations, part of why I love it. I would formally use Adelaide and then go mad with all the nicknames. I love flower names and I thought I could even get away with Daisy as a nickname 🙂
Daisy would work, I think – love that idea!
I like Adelais a lot that’s really pretty.
My favorite variant is Alida, then you get the nickname Lida as well as the more expected Ali and Addie.
Great list!
Love Adelais and Adelie (I like the penguin reference 🙂 ). I also like Adelaide and Ada.
I’ve been seeing tons of Adeline (this spelling and others) in birth announcements recently. She is definitely one to watch.
Abby, can you please elaborate on the Alexandra and Charlotte comment? You once said something similar about how Eleanor is the new Charlotte and Charlotte was the new Beatrice.
Some gorgeous names here. My favourites are Adelaide herself, Alice, Adeliza, Adelais and Adeline. Also the city of Adelaide in South Australia is one of my favourite places to visit.
I love Adele. It’s on my list of names to honor my mom if I ever have a daughter. Her given name was Eidy (pronounced kind of like “eighty”). She was from Colombia and my grandmother loved the book “Heidi”, but took the H off since it is silent in Spanish. My mom also went by Heidi once she moved to the U.S. Now there is a new cast member on SNL named Aidy Bryant and I am so curious if that is her real name or a nickname since it is pronounced the same as my mom’s name.
LOVE Adelelais! The letter D is usually kind of a dud for me. The S sweetens this one up for me immeasurably.
my favorite is Adelheid! She’s been on my list for a couple of years. Lots of history and so many nicknames!
Another form of the name which may have some appeal to English speaking parents is the Dutch Aletta. In the Netherlands this name is strongly associated with Aletta Jacobs (1854-1929), the first female physician in the country and an important feminist leader.
Another Dutch variant, Aleid, has been in use as a male name for centuries. A rare example of a girls name turned boy!