| Adeline | Gertrude | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Noble | Spear of strength |
| Origin | Germanic | germanic |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | AD-uh-line | GUR-trood |
| Syllables | 3 | 2 |
| First appeared | 1880 | 0 |
| Peak year | 2016 (4,120) | 1917 (6,300) |
| In 2025 | 3,864 | 0 |
| Trend | Rising | Vintage |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Adeline | Gertrude |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 19,006 | 171 |
| 2010s | 23,383 | 236 |
| 2000s | 5,719 | 135 |
| 1990s | 1,180 | 102 |
| 1980s | 493 | 188 |
| 1970s | 348 | 380 |
| 1960s | 532 | 1,250 |
| 1950s | 905 | 3,936 |
| 1940s | 1,619 | 7,936 |
| 1930s | 3,450 | 16,137 |
| 1920s | 9,917 | 42,459 |
| 1910s | 8,985 | 49,565 |
| 1900s | 2,646 | 23,607 |
| 1890s | 1,697 | 19,898 |
| 1880s | 932 | 11,100 |
A French elaboration of Germanic adal, “noble.”
From Germanic 'ger' (spear) and 'thrud' (strength), so 'strong spear'. The 'spear' element is a weapon of war rather than 'warrior' outright, but the martial sense is well established.
Adeline is more popular than Gertrude today: about 3,864 US babies were given the name Adeline in 2025, compared with 0 named Gertrude.
Adeline means Noble (Germanic origin), while Gertrude means Spear of strength (germanic origin).
In US records, Adeline first appears in 1880 and Gertrude in 0, so Gertrude has the longer recorded history.