Hello berries! I’m a longtime lover of names (and a longtime lurker on this site), but now that my husband and I are TTC, we’re starting to think of names for real. One of the girls’ names that we’ve found common ground on is [name_f]Adela[/name_f]. I love its simple elegance as well as the plucky nickname [name_u]Dell[/name_u], but as I haven’t seen much about this name on the forums, I thought I’d see what other takes on the name might be. Too old-fashioned? Too feminine? Too close to the super-popular [name_f]Ella[/name_f] and [name_f]Stella[/name_f]?
Some possible combos (mostly to honor loved ones):
I [name_f]LOVE[/name_f] [name_f]Adela[/name_f]. Out of your combos, I like [name_f]Adela[/name_f] [name_u]June[/name_u] and [name_f]Adela[/name_f] [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] the best. I don’t think it’s too old-fashioned or too feminine at all. It may be a little close to [name_f]Ella[/name_f] and [name_f]Stella[/name_f], but I wouldn’t say it’s too close. It’s still different enough to have distinction.
“Simple elegance” is [name_f]Adela[/name_f] to a T, but the “d” gives it a little force, too. [name_u]Dell[/name_u] is an awesome nickname! It doesn’t blend in with [name_f]Ella[/name_f] and [name_f]Stella[/name_f], though I’d worry a little about all of the [name_m]Ad[/name_m]- names out there ([name_f]Adeline[/name_f], [name_f]Adelaide[/name_f], [name_u]Addison[/name_u], Addelie - when you combine them, it’s a lot!). But you know, the more I think about it, the more [name_f]Adela[/name_f] stands out from those, I think because the emphasis is on the second syllable, rather than on “[name_m]Add[/name_m]” at the front. Also, because [name_f]Adela[/name_f] has the A sound from “art” and [name_f]Adeline[/name_f], etc. have the A from “at.”
Definitely not too old-fashioned - I think it fits in perfectly with the old-fashioned revival names that are so popular. It’s the rare name that sounds very “now” but actually isn’t at all popular. Basically the baby name holy grail, for a lot of people.
The only [name_f]Adela[/name_f] I’ve known was Spanish-speaking so used the [name_m]Ah[/name_m]-[name_u]DAY[/name_u]-la pronunciation, but I think the English [name_m]Ah[/name_m]-[name_u]DELL[/name_u]-uh is just as pretty.
[name_f]Adela[/name_f] is quite pretty, dainty and demure, vintage-chic, all lace and ruffles and china tea services with miniature sandwiches and scones and rich chocolates and polite conversation. I think of [name_f]Adela[/name_f] from A Passage to [name_f]India[/name_f] who wasn’t a bad character exactly, just rather unfortunate, but not a particularly interesting one to me.
With [name_f]Ella[/name_f], [name_f]Bella[/name_f], [name_f]Adele[/name_f], [name_f]Adeline[/name_f], [name_f]Isabella[/name_f] and company all making waves, I don’t understand why the medieval [name_f]Adela[/name_f] isn’t getting much love. I think it’s quite charming. Although [name_f]Adela[/name_f] is three-syllables, it only has five letters so I think something longer in the middle spot looks best. My fave is [name_f]Adela[/name_f] [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] (the p in [name_f]Josephine[/name_f] breaks the straight line) followed by [name_f]Adela[/name_f] [name_f]Catherine[/name_f].
I love [name_f]Adela[/name_f]. Beautiful name and I like [name_f]Addie[/name_f] best as a nn but [name_u]Dell[/name_u] is cute too!
[name_f]Adela[/name_f] [name_u]June[/name_u] would be my first pick
I think it’s too short to be considered overly feminine. And with the popularity of [name_f]Adele[/name_f] I certainly wouldn’t call it old-fashioned. It’s different enough from [name_f]Ella[/name_f] that I wouldn’t connect them.
I don’t think it’s too old-fashioned or too feminine at all. It may be a little close to [name_f]Ella[/name_f] and [name_f]Stella[/name_f], but I wouldn’t say it’s too close. It’s still different enough to have distinction.