The Baby Name Wizard

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Contribute to, or edit, this collection of community wisdom on the name Ada!

Comments and insights on the name Ada: | Edit

It's a palindrome!

Personal experiences with the name Ada: | Edit

* I am named Ada, after my great grandmother. Growing up, I didn't like the name because nobody else I knew had the same name and teachers had trouble pronouncing it. The first time I ever met another Ada was at a party right after college. People were signing up to play beer pong and there was an Ada signed up. I immediately thought "who signed me up?" but then found out that there was, indeed, another Ada in the world. I immediately sought her out and asked her about her name. She said her mother opened the baby name book and it was the first one she saw! I like my name now, because it's unique and has history. I work in a job where I'm on the phone with new people often. Every few months I talk to somebody and they tell me that their great aunt or grandmother or mother was named Ada. I love to hear that and it gives me a nice connection to my great grandmother Ada.

* One might think that with such a simple name there would be little or no spelling confusion; not so. People routinely wonder if it is spelled "Aida" (which we pronounce "i-EE-deh") or "Adah". For some reason the simplest spelling -- Ada -- is rarely if ever the first proposed spelling.

* People also frequently mishear the name as "Ava" / "Eva", or as "Aidan" -- all popular names in the 2000s.

* I was named Ada after my Grandmother. The spelling and pronunciation is often in error. As a child, I didn't care about my name, but it's fine with me now. I was often teased as "Ada Potato." Now my last name sounds like a number, so people get confused and think I'm saying "8-11."

I have named my daughter Ada, after my grandmother Ada. My grandmother was born in 1892, and my daughter was born in 1978. She was always the only Ada in her classes at school. She doesn't remember her great grandmother that she was named after. But she is happy with the name. Her married name is Smith, so I'm glad she has a name that is a little unusual. She too was called "Ada potato" in school. She is OK with that.

Nicknames for Ada: | Edit

* A. Seriously, what other nickname could there be for a name with 3 letters!

* Ada-suffix. Like, "Ada-baby", "Ada-berry", "Ada-beta".

* My daughter's name is Ada, and people instantly rhyme her name with potato (obviously, the way we pronounce it is not with the "o" ending). Ada-potato has been shortened to Tater.

* I was named after my grandmother. She was called "Adie (Ay-dee)."

Meanings and history of the name Ada: | Edit

* Ada (AH dah) is a Hebrew biblical name meaning "adornment". An English form of the name is Adah. Ada was the wife of Lamech and the mother of Jabal and Jubal. Another Ada was a wife of Esau and the daughter of Elon the Hittite. It can also be a short form of Adelaide, and is a West African name of obviously different etymology.

* Ada, Countess of Lovelace was the daughter of Lord Byron. She is famous for having written a description of Charles Babbage's early computer, the analytical engine, and its potential uses -- thus, she is known as the first computer programmer. A computer language is named after her.

* The Ada Gospels are dedicated to Charlemagne's sister Ada.

Famous real-life people named Ada: | Edit

* Ada Duconge, better known as "Bricktop", legendary singer and nightclub owner known for entertaining the "rich, famous and talented" in her Paris, Rome and Mexico City jazz clubs. Cole Porter wrote "Miss Otis Regrets" especially for her.
* Ada Lovelace, first person to write a computer program, only legitimate daughter of Lord Byron
* Ada Yonath, Nobel Prize winning chemist
* ADA Isaacs Menken, Anglo-American actress and writer; born June 15, 1835, at Milneburg, La.; died in Paris, France, Aug. 10, 1868

Ada in song, story & screen: | Edit

* "Ada", song by indie rock band The National
* Ada Monroe, main character in the movie "Cold Mountain", played by Nicole Kidman
* Ada McGrath, mute main character in the movie "The Piano", played by Holly Hunter
* "Conceiving Ada", 1997 film by Lynn Hershman-Leeson. Tilda Swinton plays Ada Lovelace, who is a model and inspiration for Emmy Coer, the main character in the film.
* ''Ada, or Ardor'' by Vladimir Nabokov; Ada and her half-brother are involved in a life-long love affair.