Head to head · Girls' names
Adelina vs Amina
#304 vs #315 in 2025 · Old High German vs Arabic roots
Adelina is a whisker ahead (#304 vs #315 in 2025), but the curves point different ways: Adelina is climbing the charts fast, Amina is holding its place on the charts.
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Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
The tale of the tape
On the charts, Adelina leads 4 measures of 6; Amina leads 2.
Ranks, counts and years are measured in the official US birth record; the classroom and living figures are estimates computed from it. The dot marks the side each measure favours on the charts — more common, not better.
What the records say
146 years of US births, drawn on one scale
Two curves, one scale
Who owned which decade
- 1880s: Adelina #875, Amina — — Adelina higher
- 1890s: Adelina #782, Amina — — Adelina higher
- 1900s: Adelina #845, Amina — — Adelina higher
- 1910s: Adelina #806, Amina — — Adelina higher
- 1920s: Adelina #849, Amina — — Adelina higher
- 1930s: Adelina #966, Amina — — Adelina higher
- 1940s: Adelina #1082, Amina #4691 — Adelina higher
- 1950s: Adelina #1403, Amina #5227 — Adelina higher
- 1960s: Adelina #1727, Amina #4136 — Adelina higher
- 1970s: Adelina #1920, Amina #1854 — Amina higher
- 1980s: Adelina #2132, Amina #1612 — Amina higher
- 1990s: Adelina #2071, Amina #1347 — Amina higher
- 2000s: Adelina #1450, Amina #892 — Amina higher
- 2010s: Adelina #626, Amina #468 — Amina higher
- 2020s: Adelina #403, Amina #323 — Amina higher
Adelina stood higher in 9 of 15 decades; Amina has held the lead since the 1970s.
Rank by decade
| Decade | Adelina | Amina |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | #875 | — |
| 1890s | #782 | — |
| 1900s | #845 | — |
| 1910s | #806 | — |
| 1920s | #849 | — |
| 1930s | #966 | — |
| 1940s | #1082 | #4691 |
| 1950s | #1403 | #5227 |
| 1960s | #1727 | #4136 |
| 1970s | #1920 | #1854 |
| 1980s | #2132 | #1612 |
| 1990s | #2071 | #1347 |
| 2000s | #1450 | #892 |
| 2010s | #626 | #468 |
| 2020s | #403 | #323 |
Average national rank across each decade. A dash means the name sat outside the recorded top of that decade.
The names themselves
Meaning, roots, sound and the people who carried each
Where each name comes from
Adelina
noble
From the Old High German element adal, "noble" — the same root behind Adela, Adele and Adelaide. The -ina ending is a Latin diminutive added in Italy and Spain.
adal (Old High German, "noble") → Adela → Adelina
How it traveled
The root is Germanic: adal, "noble", a favorite building block in the names of Frankish and German nobility in the early Middle Ages, which gave the short name Adela. As those names moved south into Italy and the Iberian peninsula, the affectionate Latin ending -ina was attached, and Adelina became a name in its own right rather than a pet form.
Amina
trustworthy, faithful; safe, secure
Both readings come from the same Arabic root, ʾ-m-n: amn is safety, amīn is one who can be trusted. Amīna is the feminine form, and the closely written Āmina carries the sense of being secure or at peace. Dictionaries usually give 'trustworthy' first.
Amīn (Arabic) → Amīna → Aminah → Amina
How it traveled
The name is Arabic, the feminine of Amīn, and it was already in use in Mecca before Islam — Āmina bint Wahb, the mother of the Prophet Muhammad, belongs to the sixth and seventh centuries. From there it traveled everywhere Islam traveled: across North Africa and into the Sahel, where it took Hausa forms like Aminatu; down the Swahili coast; north into Anatolia, where Arabic Āmina became Turkish Emine; and into Bosnia and Albania, where Amina and Emina are both long established.
Where a reading is contested the note says so — this page does not turn a guess into a fact. The chain is each name's recorded forms, oldest first; the story is its opening, told in full on the name's own page.
Out loud, and in short
Adelina
ah-deh-LEE-nah
English speakers often say ad-uh-LEE-nuh, with a flatter first vowel; both are accepted. Expect a few people to reach for the Adeline pattern and say -LYNE — one correction usually settles it.
- Addie — The usual English short form; also given on its own, and shared with Adelaide, Adeline and Addison.
- Lina — Informal, and a standalone given name across Italy, Spain and Germany.
- Ada — Informal clip of the first half; long established as an independent name in English.
- Adelita — Spanish affectionate diminutive; also known as the title figure of the Mexican Revolution corrido "La Adelita".
- Also Deli.
Amina
ah-MEE-nah
Stress on the middle syllable is the usual American reading. Turkish and Balkan speakers often stress the first syllable, AH-mee-nah, and in classical Arabic Āmina puts the weight at the front too. English speakers seeing it cold sometimes try uh-MY-nuh, which is worth correcting once and then forgetting.
- Mina — The most common short form in English, and a standalone given name in its own right in German, Dutch and Japanese contexts.
- Ami — Informal, family-and-friends use; sometimes written Amy in American settings.
- Nina — Used informally in Balkan and Turkish families; also a full given name elsewhere.
- Mimi — Playful, mostly used by adults for a small child.
- Also Amy.
Is it right for you
The differences that decide it, laid out by what you want
Choose by what you want
Choose Adelina if you want…
- a name most people already know#304 in 2025, 1,007 babies that year
- a name on the way upup 234 places on the charts in five years
- a name with more sound in itAdelina runs 4 syllables, Amina 3
Choose Amina if you want…
- a name fewer children share#315 in 2025 — amina will almost certainly be the only one in school
- a name holding steadyAmina is holding its place on the charts
- a name with fewer syllablesAmina is 3 syllables to Adelina's 4
Each line is a measured difference between the two names — a rank, a count, a recorded form — never a judgement of either. Save the one that answers your question; it lands on your shortlist.
The trade-offs, name by name
Adelina
Strengths
- Spelled the way it sounds in English, Spanish and Italian alike, so it survives travel and phone calls without translation.
- Several long-established short forms already in use — Addie, Lina, Ada, Adelita — so there is room to be formal or casual.
- Documented in continuous use for centuries, with a clear line back to the Germanic element adal.
To consider
- Adeline, Adelina, Adalina and Adelyn all circulate together, so she will likely spell it aloud fairly often, and forms that look nearly identical get mixed up.
- Four syllables plus a long surname can get unwieldy; it helps to say the full name out loud a few times before deciding.
- The short form Addie is shared with Adelaide, Adeline and Addison, so it may not identify her uniquely in a group.
Amina
Strengths
- Recognized on sight across Arabic-speaking, Turkish, Balkan, West African, East African and South Asian communities — a genuinely international name, not a translated one.
- Spelled the way it sounds in English: no silent letters, no doubled consonants, nothing to dictate twice.
- Ready-made short forms already in real use — Mina, Ami, Nina — none of which have to be invented.
To consider
- It shares the field with Aminah, Ameena, Amena, Emina and Emine, so 'which spelling?' will be a lifelong question — easy to answer, but asked often.
- Stress placement genuinely differs between communities. Within one extended family the name may be said two ways, and both are correct.
- In American classrooms she will most likely be the only one, which means the name is hers alone but also that teachers will meet it fresh each September.
Documented properties of each name — how it spells, travels and shortens — not opinions about the child.
How each is likely to age
Adelina
56%chance Adelina feels dated by 2040
Adelina is climbing fast right now. Steep climbs tend to come with steep descents — the quicker a name arrives, the more firmly it belongs to its moment.
Amina
40%chance Amina feels dated by 2040
Amina sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A reading of where each name sits on the long naming cycle — computed, not measured, and explained on the data page.
With your last name
Say both in full. The notes are facts about letters and sound — a rhyme, a shared initial, the monogram — not a verdict on either name.
Type a last name to hear Adelina and Amina in full.
Weighing the whole shortlist? Run the full comparison — up to eight names with your last name, initials, classroom projections and a printable report.
Decide together
Nobody names a baby alone
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More head-to-heads
Same measures, different pair. Sixty more are dealt daily in the arena.
Lists that carry both names
Every list here names both Adelina and Amina — the same style, ranked by the same records.
Adelina or Amina — the short answers
- Which is more popular, Adelina or Amina?
- Adelina, in 2025: Adelina ranked #304 with 1,007 babies; Amina ranked #315 with 970 babies.
- Which name is rising faster, Adelina or Amina?
- Adelina. Over the last five years Adelina moved up 234 places; Amina moved up 15 places.
- Which is the older name, Adelina or Amina?
- Adelina entered the US charts in 1884; Amina entered the US charts in 1943. On the American record, Adelina is the older name.
- How many people are named Adelina and Amina?
- About 14,000 people named Adelina are estimated to be alive in the US today. About 19,000 people named Amina are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- Will there be other Adelinas or Aminas in the classroom?
- Adelina will almost certainly be the only one in school. Amina will almost certainly be the only one in school.
US figures from the Social Security Administration, 1880–2025. Votes are battle voters on this site, not the birth record. Data & methodology
Keep playing
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