Adderly
A given name of English origin meaning "deep wooded vale".
Name Census estimates that about 11 living Americans carry the first name Adderly. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Adderly today is around 36 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Adderly births was 1987 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Adderly. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Adderly. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
11
~ 1 in 31,159,485 Americans
Peak year
1987
6 babies that year
Average age
36
years old
1990 SSA rank
#8,124
Tracked since 1987
Popularity
Adderly: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Adderly from the 1980s through to the 1990s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 6 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Adderly by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Adderly during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Adderly
The name Adderly is an English name with origins dating back to the medieval period. It is believed to have derived from the Old English words "ædre" meaning "watercourse" and "leah" meaning "meadow" or "clearing." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who lived near a stream or river in a meadow or clearing.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Adderly can be found in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey of land ownership in England commissioned by William the Conqueror. The name appears in various spellings, such as "Aderlie" and "Adderlegh," suggesting its evolution over time.
In the 13th century, a notable figure bearing the name Adderly was Sir John Adderly, a knight who fought in the Crusades. He is mentioned in several chronicles and historical accounts of the time, including the writings of the chronicler Matthew Paris.
During the Renaissance period, the name Adderly gained prominence through the works of the English poet and playwright William Shakespeare. In his play "The Merry Wives of Windsor," one of the characters is named Sir Hugh Adderly, a Welsh parson.
In the 17th century, Sir Robert Adderly (1603-1688) was a prominent English politician and landowner. He served as a Member of Parliament and played a significant role in the English Civil War, initially supporting the Parliamentarian cause but later switching sides to support King Charles I.
Another notable figure with the name Adderly was Thomas Adderly (1793-1859), an English architect and civil engineer. He is best known for his work on the Birmingham Canal Navigations, which played a crucial role in the industrial development of the West Midlands region.
In more recent times, the name Adderly has been carried by individuals such as Joseph Adderly (1928-2010), an American jazz saxophonist and bandleader. He was renowned for his contributions to the hard bop and modal jazz genres and collaborated with many legendary musicians, including Miles Davis and John Coltrane.
While the name Adderly has its roots in medieval England, it has since spread to various parts of the world, particularly through English colonial expansion and migration. However, it remains a relatively uncommon name, with its historical significance and associations providing a rich tapestry of cultural heritage.
People
Adderly + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Adderly as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with A
Other first names starting with A with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Adderly: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Adderly?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 11 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Adderly going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 31,159,485 US residents.
Is Adderly a common name?
We classify Adderly as "Very Rare". It ranks above 30.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 11 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Adderly most popular?
The single biggest year for Adderly was 1987, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Adderly is about 36 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Adderly in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Adderly a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Adderly in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Adderly still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Adderly in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Adderly can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are named Adderly?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans are named Adderly at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.