Adelaide

Gender: Feminine
Origin: Old German
Meaning: “noble kind; noble sort.”
Eng (AD-ə-layd)

An English form of the German name, Adelheid, it is composed of the Germanic elements, adel (noble) and heid (kind, sort, type). It was borne by a 10th-century saint and wife of Otto the Great.

Its popularity in the English-speaking world was sparked in the 19th-century when William IV took Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen as his wife. As a result, several places throughout the former British Empire were named in her honour, including Adelaide, Australia.

In addition, the name has been borne by several other royal personages throughout history.

Currently, Adelaide is the 434th most popular name in the United States, (2010).

Other forms of the name include:

• Adelgjejda Адэльгейда (Belarusian)
• Adeljajda АдэлЯйда (Belarusian)
• Adelaid (Breton)
• Adelaida Аделаида (Catalan/Czech/Hungarian/Russian/Slovene/Spanish)
• Adléta (Czech)
• Adelaide (Danish/English/Italian/Portuguese/Swedish)
• Alhed (Danish)
• Adelheid (Dutch/Finnish/German/Norwegian)
• Adelheidis (Dutch)
• Aleida (Dutch/German)
• Alida (Dutch/Hungarian/Latvian)
• Aadelheide (Estonian)
• Alide (Estonian)
• Adélaïde (French)
• Alette (French/Norwegian)
• Aleit (Frisian)
• Elke (Frisian)
• Talea (Frisian)
• Tale (Frisian)
• Talia/Thalia (Frisian)
• Talisa (Frisian)
• Talke/Thalke (Frisian)
• Adelaira (Galician)
• Delaira (Galician)
• Alheit (German)
• Alke (German)
• Heide (German)
• Heidi (German)
• Adina (Hungarian)
• Aletta (Hungarian/Italian)
• Alett (Hungarian)
• Alitta (Hungarian)
• Adelasia (Italian: archaic)
• Aalis (Medieval French)
• Alides (Norwegian: archaic)
• Adalais (Occitanian)
• Asalais or Azalaïs (Occitanian)
• Ahlheid (Plattdeutsch)
• Ahlheit (Plattdeutsch)
• Adelajda (Polish)

Common English diminutives are: Addie, Del and Lady.

The designated name-days are: January 30 (Poland), February 5 (Poland), December 12 (Poland), December 16 (Estonia/Germany/Poland), December 17 (France).

Source

1. http://www.behindthename.com/name/adelaide