Adelia
Of German origin meaning "noble" or "reverent one".
Name Census estimates that about 2,677 living Americans carry the first name Adelia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Adelia today is around 31 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Adelia births was 2017 (112 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Adelia. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Adelia with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
2.7K
~ 1 in 128,037 Americans
Peak year
2017
112 babies that year
Average age
31
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,079
Tracked since 1880
Census
Adelia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 3,441 people with the first name Adelia, which placed it at #5,098 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#5,098
National first-name rank
People counted
3.4K
3,441 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
1.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
51.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Adelia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Adelia is White at 51.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (28.3%) and Black (7.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Adelia described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Adelia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White51.8% · 1,783
- Hispanic or Latino28.3% · 974
- Black or African American7.6% · 260
- Asian and Pacific Islander7.6% · 260
- Two or more races3.7% · 127
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.1% · 37
Popularity
Adelia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Adelia from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 785 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Adelia remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Adelia 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 Adelia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Adelias live
The SSA's state-level files cover 21 states and territories. Texas, California, New York recorded the most babies named Adelia, while Indiana, Idaho, Colorado recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 50 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Adelia
The name Adelia has its origins in the Latin language, stemming from the roots "adel" meaning "noble" and "ius" meaning "son". It emerged during the Middle Ages, particularly in regions with Latin cultural influences.
The name Adelia was initially used as a feminine form of the masculine name Adelius, which itself derived from the Germanic name Adalheidis or Adelheid. This Germanic name combined the elements "adal" meaning "noble" and "haid" meaning "kind" or "sort".
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Adelia can be found in the 9th century, when an Italian noblewoman named Adelia di Bergamo lived during the Carolingian era. She was known for her philanthropy and support of religious institutions in the region.
In the 12th century, a French noblewoman named Adelia of Blois played a significant role in the crusades, accompanying her husband, Stephen of Blois, on the Second Crusade. She was renowned for her bravery and leadership during the arduous journey.
During the Renaissance period, Adelia Valvasone, an Italian poet and writer born in 1556, gained recognition for her works in both Italian and Latin. Her poetry explored themes of love, nature, and the human condition.
In the 18th century, Adelia Opie, an English author and poet born in 1769, made her mark with her literary works, including novels and poems that often addressed social issues and women's rights. She was also a prominent figure in the abolitionist movement.
Another notable figure with the name Adelia was Adelia Maria Sharpe, an American humanitarian and philanthropist born in 1824. She dedicated her life to improving education and healthcare for underprivileged communities, establishing schools and hospitals throughout the United States.
Throughout history, the name Adelia has been associated with nobility, grace, and a strong sense of purpose. While its usage may have ebbed and flowed over the centuries, it has endured as a name that carries a rich cultural heritage and a connection to influential figures from various eras.
People
Adelia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Adelia 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
Adelia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Adelia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,677 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Adelia 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 128,037 US residents.
Is Adelia a common name?
We classify Adelia as "Rare". It ranks above 94.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5,628 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Adelia most popular?
The single biggest year for Adelia was 2017, when 112 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Adelia is about 31 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Adelia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 3,441 people with the name Adelia, or 1.14 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #5,098 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Adelia in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Adelia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Adelia appears almost entirely female. Of the 3,440 people counted with this name, 99.6% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Adelia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Adelia is White at 51.8%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (28.3%) and Black (7.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Adelia most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Adelia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 51.8% (1,783 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
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 Adelia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Adelia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Adelia in the SSA data are female. 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 Adelia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Adelia 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 Adelia 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.
How many people share the name Adelia?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.