Hadasa
Feminine · “Myrtle”
Hadassah is Esther's Hebrew name — the book gives both, and says plainly that Hadassah is who she was before the Persian court renamed her. The word is a myrtle, a small evergreen used in Jewish ritual.
How old is the name Hadasa?
Hadasa first appears in US birth records in 1997 — 28 years ago. The typical Hadasa is a kid of about 11 — this name's wave is very recent. About 500 people named Hadasa are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Hadasa most popular?
Hadasa peaked in 2015, reaching #3595 nationally. Today it ranks #5554, 1,959 places below that high. See the whole 2015 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From hădassāh to Hadasa
The story of Hadasa
The myrtle is one of the four species used at Sukkot and carries associations of righteousness in rabbinic reading, which is part of why the double name in Esther has been so much discussed. Hadassah has been a Jewish women's name throughout the diaspora, and the American Zionist women's organization founded in 1912 took the name. The Hadasa spelling is separate and Hispanic: Latin American evangelical communities have drawn heavily on the Hebrew Bible for names, and Hadasa, Abigail, Keila and Cesia all appear in that stream. Its American peak in 2015 sits with those families.
Meaning
Myrtle
From Hebrew hădassāh, the myrtle tree, from a Semitic root shared with Akkadian. The reading is settled. Esther 2:7 says that Mordecai brought up Hadassah, that is, Esther — the second name being Persian, generally connected either to the goddess Ishtar or to a Persian word for a star. The single-s Hadasa is a Spanish and Latin American transliteration.
How the name formed
- hădassāh
- Hadassah
- Hadasa
Related forms: הֲדַסָּה · Hadassah · Hadasa
Pronouncing Hadasa
hah-DAH-sah
Three syllables, stress in the middle. Hebrew doubles the s audibly, which the single-s Spanish spelling does not show; English speakers say huh-DAH-suh.
Nicknames for Hadasa
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1997
- Most girls named
- 201543 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #3595reached in 2015
- Change vs 2024
- −15.4%22 in 2025, from 26
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Hadasa in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- הֲדַסָּה in Hebrew — related form
- Hadassah in English — spelling variant
- Hadasa in Spanish — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, New York, Texas.
Hadasas among us
people named Hadasa are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 73,058 born in 2025 was named Hadasa
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Dabney test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Hadasa's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Dabney climbed just as high around 1948, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Dabney's path sketches the road Hadasa is walking now.
Hadasa 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 scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Hadasa beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Hadasa in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- The meaning is settled and concrete — a specific and fragrant tree.
- Esther stands behind it as the name's own biblical companion.
- The syllables are open and easy for any speaker.
- Hadassah is the standard spelling and will be written for it.
- The Jewish organization is a strong association in American ears.
- It is unfamiliar outside Jewish and Latin American evangelical communities.
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What they receive
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Hadasa
Feminine · #5554 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Hadasas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 500 people named Hadasa are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Hadasa in 2025?
- Hadasa ranks #5554 among US girl names in 2025, with 22 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Hadasa?
- About 1 in every 73,058 US girls born in 2025 was named Hadasa — 22 in all.
- Will my child share the name Hadasa with classmates?
- Hadasa will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Hadasa
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Eda#5554 · Phebe#5554 · Felicia#5554 · Audie#5554 · Maryellen#5554 · Warren#5554 · Ruthann#5554 · Nettie#5554
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Hadasa? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Hadasa and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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