Ada: meaning and UK use

What does Ada mean?

This entry covers Ada as a short form of Germanic names beginning with adal, such as Adelaide. Other names spelled Ada have separate histories.

Language or name family covered

Germanic name family

Meaning or derivation

From an element meaning noble

Our browsing group

girl; vintage

Browsing groups describe our editorial shortlist, not rules about who may use a name. A name can cross languages and genders.

Sources for this entry — reviewed 2026-10-07:

• Behind the Name — Ada

Pronunciation and related forms

AY-duh (English)

English respellings are approximate; IPA is labelled where used. Follow the pronunciation a person or family chooses, and check it with a speaker of the intended language if that connection matters to you.

Related forms recorded in the reference: Adelaide, Adelina. These may be full forms, diminutives or forms in another language; they are not necessarily pronounced alike or counted together in statistics.

How popular is Ada?

In 2025, 1,014 baby girls in England and Wales were registered as Ada, making it the 40th most popular girls’ name. That is the same position as in 2024. Ten years earlier, in 2015, it ranked 187th, so it has climbed 147 places in a decade. Its best year in the ONS series was 2022, at 36th. These figures cover England and Wales, not the whole UK.

2025 rank (girls)

40th

2025 registrations

1,014

Best rank in this series

36th (2022)

Every year from 1996 to 2025

Ada: rank and number of baby girls by year (ONS)

Year	Rank	Babies
2025	40	1,014
2024	40	1,049
2023	37	1,089
2022	36	1,138
2021	44	1,058
2020	38	1,140
2019	47	1,028
2018	65	811
2017	114	470
2016	164	341
2015	187	293
2014	233	217
2013	280	168
2012	384	123
2011	386	121
2010	499	81
2009	547	71
2008	699	51
2007	919	33
2006	976	29
2005	951	28
2004	1617	13
2003	1628	12
2002	2301	7
2001	1520	12
2000	1831	9
1999	2189	7
1998	3142	4
1997	1543	11
1996	2683	5

The sum of published counts in this 1996–2025 girls series is 10,433. This is a lower bound where years are suppressed, not the number of living people with the name. A best rank is the best position within this series; it does not establish an all-time record.

Selected hyphenated registrations starting with Ada in 2025: Ada-Rose: 27 (girls); Ada-May: 11 (girls); Ada-Mae: 10 (girls). This selection includes up to four matching forms with at least ten registrations, not every compound name.

Sources: ONS release, 2025; girls' dataset; boys' dataset. Our 20 top-ten positions were checked against Table 1 in the 2025 workbooks. The history chart and spelling comparisons come from the separate ONS 1996–2025 workbook, checked 7 October 2026. Spelling variants are separate entries. Scotland and Northern Ireland have separate statistics.

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Names to compare with Ada

These suggestions share a browsing group and one or more of our style tags or source-context labels. They are taste comparisons, not etymological relatives or a popularity ranking.

• Beatricevintage · A form of Beatrix
• Claravintage · Clear, bright or famous
• Daisyvintage · The daisy flower
• Elsievintage · A short form of Elizabeth
• Evelynvintage · From the given name Aveline
• Florencevintage · Prosperous or flourishing

Read the UK naming guide for the difference between inspiration lists and official statistics, or return to the full name finder.

Registering or changing the name

Once you decide on Ada, confirm the registration process for your UK nation with the register office. If you later want to change a registered name, the route depends on the circumstances and may require consent from people with parental responsibility.

Start with GOV.UK birth registration or GOV.UK guidance on changing a child’s name. Our registration guide and child name-change guide explain where to find the relevant official process.