Adele (also spelled Adèle) is a feminine given name meaning 'nobility'. It derives from German Adel meaning 'nobility' or adal, 'noble'.^[1] In Italy its name day is 24 December in honor of Adela of Pfalzel.^[2]

Its male form is the Germanic given name Adel.

The name, also spelled Adel, is also in use in Israel, where it stands for the Hebrew phrase esh dat lamo (אש דת למו) or a fiery law unto them, used in reference to the Torah.^[3]

People with the given name

A–F

G–R

S–Z

Fictional characters

• Adele Airota, mother-in-law of the narrator Elena in the Neapolitan Novels
• Adele Azupadi, a character in the TV series The Story of Tracy Beaker
  • Elena's daughter, also named Adele Airota, but always called Dede
• Adèle Blanc-Sec, main character of Les Aventures extraordinaires d'Adèle Blanc-Sec written by Jacques Tardi
• Adele Ferguson, a character in the novel Behind Her Eyes by Sarah Pinborough
• Adele Mundy, Communications Officer, librarian, and spy in David Drake's RCN Series of space opera novels
• Adèle Ratignolle, a standard of feminine beauty in the American classic The Awakening by Kate Chopin
• Adele Stackhouse, Sookie's grandmother in True Blood
• Adele Verans, the young French ward of Mr. Rochester in the novel Jane Eyre and its adaptations