The Etymology and Meaning of Ada

The female names Adele or Adelaide are recognized as being shortened in the English feminine given name Ada. In this Germanic line of derivation, therefore, Ada carries the sense of “nobility,” and, of course, “nobility” denotes “dignified,” “aristocratic,” or “royal.”

Intriguingly, though, Ada has also been featured as a female name in other cultures’ languages. The southern Nigerian people group the Igbo use Ada to signify “firstborn daughter.”

The name Ada, however, traces all the way back to Ancient Greece and even further than that, considering that the Hebrew Old Testament’s Genesis 36:2 declares Isaac’s wayward son Esau married an Adah (in some Anglicized versions it is rendered “Ada”), and, ironically enough, the first Biblically recorded polygamist, namely Lamech, also married an Adah (Genesis 4:23). In the Hebrew, “ornamentation” is the denotation.

Popularity of Ada

Situated just above Maria in the 2018 Top 100 Girls Names in England and corresponding to Carter with regard to position on the Boys Names side, Ada came in at 65.

Persons Named Ada

Born Augusta Ada King on December 10th, 1815 to the British poet Lord Byron, the Londoner Ada Lovelace is famous for the pioneering of an algorithm for the British polymath Charles Babbage’s Analytical Engine.

Another Londoner, one of Jewish ancestry, was the 1874-born Ada Reeve, a stage performer and actress.

Known also by the marital surname Thorne, there is the fictional Birmingham-born Ada Shelby of the British crime drama Peaky Blinders. The setting is post-WW 1 era England; furthermore, Ada is portrayed by English actress Sophie Rundle.

Useful Resources

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