Adaline

/ˈæd.ə.laɪn/

Adaline is a feminine given name of Old French and Old German origin, a variant of Adeline, which itself derives from the Germanic element adal, meaning “nobility” or “noble kind.” The suffix -ine or -line is a French diminutive element that softens

US Rank

No. 194

Births

1,562

Peak Year

2016

and feminizes the root, giving the full name a meaning approximately equivalent to “noble 1” or “of noble lineage.” The name belongs to the large adal-derived family that includes Adelaide, Adalheid, Ada, and Adela.

Adeline (and its variant Adaline) was used throughout medieval France and spread to England following the Norman Conquest of 1066, when French naming fashions profoundly influenced English nomenclature.

What the name Adaline means

Adeline de Warenne, a Norman noblewoman of the 11th century, is among the early documented bearers in England.

The name appears in English records through the medieval period but declined significantly by the early modern era as naming fashions changed.

The spelling Adaline represents a romanticized or archaicizing variant of Adeline, bringing the adal root element into visible prominence.

This spelling became associated with a particular nostalgic aesthetic and gained cultural visibility through the 2015 American film The Age of Adaline, starring Blake Lively, in which the character Adaline Bowman is a woman who stops aging after a

mysterious accident.

The film’s wide release brought the specific spelling to widespread public attention.

In the United States, both Adeline and Adaline participated in the broader revival of Victorian-era names that characterized naming trends of the 2010s. SSA records show measurable growth in both spellings from approximately 2012 onward.

Adeline has generally outranked Adaline in raw numbers, but both have climbed consistently. The name joins a group of -line ending names that became fashionable in this period, including Caroline, Emmeline, and Madeline.

By 2024, Adaline ranked within the top 500 names for girls in the United States, while the more common spelling Adeline ranked within the top 100.

The name is also found in France, Belgium, and Quebec, where the French-language form Adéline is standard. Common nickname forms include Addie, Ada, and Lina.