Ladell
A masculine name meaning "prosperous or wealthy".
Name Census estimates that about 976 living Americans carry the first name Ladell. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 70.3% of registrations being male. The average person named Ladell today is around 50 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Ladell births was 1954 (26 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Ladell. 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
976
~ 1 in 351,183 Americans
Peak year
1954
26 babies that year
Average age
50
years old
2022 SSA rank
#10,572
Tracked since 1913
Gender
Gender distribution for Ladell
Ladell is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 1,456 total registrations, 1,023 (70.3%) were male and 433 (29.7%) were female.
Ladell as a male name
- Ranked #11,688 in 2022
- 6 male births in 2022
- Peak: 1969 (20 births)
Ladell as a female name
- Ranked #10,572 in 1978
- 5 female births in 1978
- Peak: 1930 (18 births)
Popularity
Ladell: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Ladell from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 193 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Ladell 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 Ladell during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Ladells live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Texas, Illinois, California recorded the most babies named Ladell, while California, Illinois, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 17 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Ladell
The name Ladell has its origins in the Old English language, dating back to the Anglo-Saxon period in Britain, circa the 5th to 11th centuries. It is derived from the Old English words "læd" or "lad," meaning "a path or way," and "dell," which refers to a small valley or hollow. Thus, the name can be interpreted as "one who resides in a valley or along a path."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Ladell can be found in the Domesday Book, a comprehensive record of landowners and properties in England compiled in 1086 by order of William the Conqueror. In this document, a certain Ladell is listed as a landowner in the county of Gloucestershire.
Throughout the Middle Ages, the name Ladell appeared in various historical records, such as tax rolls and parish registers. Notable bearers of the name from this period include Ladell de Beaumont, a knight who fought in the Crusades during the 12th century, and Ladell the Scribe, a renowned calligrapher who worked in the scriptorium of Bury St. Edmunds Abbey in the 13th century.
During the Renaissance, the name Ladell gained some prominence in the arts and literature. One of the most famous individuals with this name was Ladell Montague (1518-1592), an English playwright and poet who was a contemporary of William Shakespeare. His works, though now largely forgotten, were popular in their time and praised for their wit and eloquence.
In the 18th century, Ladell Fitzhugh (1705-1777) was a prominent figure in the American colonies. Born in Virginia, he served as a member of the House of Burgesses and was a vocal advocate for colonial rights and independence from British rule.
Another notable bearer of the name was Ladell Hawthorne (1832-1901), a renowned architect who designed several iconic buildings in New York City, including the original Metropolitan Opera House and the Astor Court buildings.
Throughout history, the name Ladell has maintained a relatively consistent spelling and pronunciation, though variations such as Ladel, Ladelle, and Ladelle have been encountered. While not a particularly common name in modern times, it has endured as a unique and evocative moniker with deep roots in the English language and culture.
People
Ladell + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Ladell as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Ladell: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Ladell?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 976 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Ladell 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 351,183 US residents.
Is Ladell a common name?
We classify Ladell as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,456 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Ladell most popular?
The single biggest year for Ladell was 1954, when 26 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Ladell is about 50 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Ladell a male name?
Yes, 70.3% of people registered as Ladell 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.
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.