Adelita
A Spanish feminine diminutive of Adela, meaning "noble" and "serene".
Name Census estimates that about 1,528 living Americans carry the first name Adelita. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Adelita today is around 43 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Adelita births was 1961 (43 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Adelita. 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.
People living today
1.5K
~ 1 in 224,316 Americans
Peak year
1961
43 babies that year
Average age
43
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,185
Tracked since 1924
Census
Adelita in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,781 people with the first name Adelita, which placed it at #8,192 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
#8,192
National first-name rank
People counted
1.8K
1,781 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.6
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
87.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Adelita
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Adelita is Hispanic at 87.0%. The next largest groups are White (6.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.3%). 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 Adelita 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 Adelita at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino87.0% · 1,549
- White6.1% · 109
- Asian and Pacific Islander4.3% · 76
- Black or African American1.5% · 26
- Two or more races0.6% · 11
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 10
Popularity
Adelita: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Adelita from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 302 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1960s peak, Adelita remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Adelita 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 Adelita during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Adelitas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. Texas, California, Arizona recorded the most babies named Adelita, while New York, Arizona, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 236 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Adelita
The given name Adelita has its origins in the Spanish language, with its roots traced back to the Middle Ages. It is a diminutive form of the name Adela, which is derived from the Germanic root "Adal," meaning "noble" or "nobility." The name gained popularity in regions of Spain and later spread to Latin American countries where Spanish was the predominant language.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Adelita can be found in the literary work "El Ingenioso Hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha" by Miguel de Cervantes, published in 1605. In this classic novel, Cervantes refers to a character named Adelita, suggesting that the name was in use during the early 17th century in Spain.
During the Mexican Revolution (1910-1920), the name Adelita became closely associated with the iconic figure of the female soldiers, known as "Adelitas," who fought alongside the revolutionaries. The popular corrido (folk song) "La Adelita" immortalized these brave women and their dedication to the revolutionary cause, further cementing the name's place in Mexican culture and history.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Adelita. One of the earliest examples is Adelita de Jesús Gutiérrez (1852-1938), a Mexican nun and founder of the Congregation of the Servants of the Most Sacred Heart of Jesus. Her contributions to education and social welfare in Mexico earned her recognition and respect.
Another prominent figure was Adelita del Campo (1901-1988), a Mexican painter and sculptor known for her vibrant murals and public art pieces. Her works celebrated the indigenous cultures of Mexico and the struggles of the working class, reflecting the spirit of the Mexican Revolution.
In the realm of literature, Adelita Coriat (1920-2015) was a renowned Mexican poet and essayist. Her poetic works explored themes of love, nature, and the complexities of human existence, earning her numerous accolades and awards throughout her career.
Moving to the world of entertainment, Adelita Husni-Bey (1938-2021) was a Mexican actress and model who gained international recognition for her roles in various Hollywood films and television shows, including "The Green Slime" and "The Man from U.N.C.L.E."
Lastly, Adelita Serrano (1945-2007) was a Mexican activist and advocate for indigenous rights. She dedicated her life to empowering and defending the rights of indigenous communities in Mexico, making significant contributions to the fight against discrimination and marginalization.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who carried the name Adelita, each leaving an indelible mark on their respective fields and inspiring generations with their achievements and legacies.
People
Adelita + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Adelita 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
Adelita: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Adelita?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,528 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Adelita 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 224,316 US residents.
Is Adelita a common name?
We classify Adelita as "Rare". It ranks above 92.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,871 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Adelita most popular?
The single biggest year for Adelita was 1961, when 43 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Adelita is about 43 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Adelita in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,781 people with the name Adelita, or 0.59 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #8,192 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 Adelita 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 Adelita?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Adelita appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,787 people counted with this name, 99.8% 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 Adelita?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Adelita is Hispanic at 87.0%. The next largest groups are White (6.1%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (4.3%). 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 Adelita most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Adelita in the 2020 Census, accounting for 87.0% (1,549 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 Adelita in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Adelita a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Adelita 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 Adelita still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Adelita 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 Adelita 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 Adelita?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.