Adel (name)
Adel is a given name of ancient European origins that evolved from words meaning "noble", "nobility" or "elite".
It is derived primarily from the languages of north-western Europe, which include English, French, Luxembourgish, German, Dutch, Frisian, Danish, Norwegian, Swedish, Finnish, Faroese, and Icelandic. Today, "Adel" is a gender-neutral given name and short form of given names with this combining element.
Nordic variants of the name include Ådel, Ädel, Ádel, and Ædel. German and Dutch variants of the name include Adal and Edel. French variants of the name include Édel and Adél. Adelson and Adelaide are notable masculine and feminine forms. Adelle is a popular feminine alternative.
Although global, Adel remains prominent in north-western European countries. It can also be found as a family name with or without an affix.
The earliest known woman with the name was Princess Adel of Liège. The earliest known man with the name was King Adel of Sweden. His son's name was Adelson The legendary king of the Frisians and founder of the kingdom, Friso, had a son named Adel, supposedly born in the 3rd century BC.
Adel is an exemplar of a monothematic name. It is also the root of the names Adelais, 'Aderic, Adolf, Albert, and Alice', and their variants in other languages.
It is not related to the Arabic name Adil, also spelled Adel, which derives from the root 'ādil, meaning just or equitable.
Origins
Ancient words
The name derives from Old Dutch "ōþil", Old German "adal", Old Norse "aðal", Old French "œ̄ðel", and Old English "æðel" by evolution of proto-Germanic "aþalą" and "ōþilą".Today, "adel" is used throughout much of north-western Europe as the word for nobility.
Popularity
Globally
Adel was found over 4,000 times as a family name and over 15,000 times as a given name in 55 different countries. It is a relatively rare name. Aside from Nordic countries, it is most prominent in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, Kazakhstan and Russia.Given name
Royalty
- Adel I Friso of Friesland, King of Friesland
- Adel II Atharik of Friesland, King of Friesland
- Adel III Ubbo of Friesland, King of Friesland
- Adel IV Asega Askar of Friesland, King of Friesland
Arts and entertainment
Acting
- Adel Adham, Egyptian actor
- Adel Bencherif, French actor
- Adel Emam, Egyptian film, television, and stage actor
- Adel Abo Hassoon, Syrian television actor and voice actor
- Adel Karam, Lebanese actor, comedian, and TV presenter
Art
- Adel Abdessemed, Algerian contemporary artist
- Adel Nassief, Egyptian painter
- Adel Rootstein, British mannequin designer
Music
- Adel Dahdal, Swedish record producer and mix engineer
- Adel Heinrich, American composer, organist, and university teacher
- Adel Kamel, Egyptian music critic, musicologist, and composer
- Adel Souto, American musician
- Adel Tawil, German singer, songwriter, and producer
Writing
- Adel Esmat, Egyptian novelist
- Adel Karasholi, Syrian writer
- Adel Khozam, Emirati poet
- Adel Manna, Palestinian historian
Business
- Adel Al-Ghamdi, Saudi businessman
- Adel Hassan Al A'ali, Bahraini businessman
- Adel Chaveleh, American businessman and CIO of Crane Worldwide Logistics
Military
- Adel Al Toraifi, Saudi journalist and affair specialist
- Adel Emara, Egyptian general
- Adel Flaifel, Bahraini colonel
- Adel Khalil, Egyptian Air Defense Force Commander
Politics
- Adel Abdel-Hamid, Egyptian politician and judge
- Adel Al-Saraawi, Kuwaiti politician
- Adel Al Asoomi, Bahraini politician and businessman
- Adel Darwish, British political journalist, reporter, author, historian, broadcaster, and political commentator
- Adel Fakeih, Saudi Arabian politician and engineer
- Adel Hussein, Egyptian political activist and journalist
- Adel Labib, Egyptian politician
- Adel Mouwda, Bahraini politician
- Adel Murad, Iraqi politician
- Adel Najafzadeh, Iranian politician
- Adel Osseiran, Lebanese politician
- Adel Safar, Syrian politician and academic
- Adel Omar Sherif, Egyptian politician and judge
- Adel Tamano, Filipino educator, lawyer and politician
- Adel Younis, Egyptian jurist and politician
- Adel Yzquierdo, Cuban politician and engineer
- Adel Zawati, Palestinian politician
Sciences
- Adel F. Halasa, American scientist
- Adel Mahmoud, Egyptian-American doctor
- Adel Ramzy, Egyptian surgeon
- Adel Sedra, Egyptian-Canadian electrical engineer and professor
Sports
- Adel Abbas, Bahraini footballer
- Adel Abdulaziz, Emirati footballer
- Adel Abdullah, Syrian footballer
- Adel Adili, Libyan long-distance runner
- Adel Ahmed, Qatari footballer
- Adel Ahmed Malalla, Qatari footballer
- Adel Al-Anezi, Kuwaiti footballer
- Adel Al-Ghaith, Kuwaiti swimmer
- Adel Al-Hammadi, Emirati footballer
- Adel Al-Hosani, Emirati footballer
- Adel Al-Kahham, Kuwaiti handball player
- Adel Al-Muwallad, Saudi footballer
- Adel Al-Najadah, Kuwaiti judoka
- Adel Al-Salimi, Yemeni footballer
- Adel Al-Sulaimane, Qatari footballer
- Adel Al Chadli, Yemeni footballer
- Adel Al Mulla, Qatari footballer
- Adel Jadoua Ali, Qatari footballer
- Adel Aljabrin, Saudi Arabian archer
- Adel Amrouche, Belgo-Algerian footballer and manager
- Adel Anzimati-Aboudou, Comorian footballer
- Adel Aref, Tunisian tennis umpire
- Adel Bader, Qatari footballer
- Adel Basulaiman, Emirati footballer
- Adel Belal, Egyptian footballer
- Adel Habib Beldi, Algerian footballer
- Adel Bettaieb, French footballer
- Adel Bougueroua, Algerian footballer
- Adel Bousmal, Algerian handball goalkeeper
- Adel Belkacem Bouzida, Algerian footballer
- Adel Chbouki, Moroccan footballer
- Adel Chedli, French footballer
- Adel Djerrar, Algerian footballer
- Adel Eid, Finnish footballer
- Adel El-Maamour, Egyptian football goalkeeper
- Adel El-Moalem, Egyptian water polo player
- Adel El-Sharkawy, Egyptian handball player
- Adel El Hadi, Algerian footballer
- Adel Fadaaq, Emirati footballer
- Adel Fellous, French rugby league footballer
- Adel Ferdosipour, Iranian journalist, football commentator, translator, university professor, and television host and producer
- Adel Gafaiti, French footballer
- Adel Gamal, Emirati footballer
- Adel Gholami, Iranian volleyball player
- Adel Guemari, French-Algerian footballer
- Adel Hamek, Algerian badminton player
- Adel Hammoude, Syrian boxer
- Adel Hekal, Egyptian football goalkeeper
- Adel Humoud, Kuwaiti footballer
- Adel Ibrahim Ismail, Egyptian basketball player
- Adel Khamis, Qatari footballer
- Adel Khechini, Tunisian volleyball player
- Adel Khudhair, Iraqi footballer and coach
- Adel Kolahkaj, Iranian footballer
- Adel Lakhdari, Algerian footballer
- Adel Lami, Qatari footballer
- Adel Langue, Mauritian footballer
- Adel Massaad, Egyptian-German table tennis player
- Adel Maïza, Algerian footballer
- Adel Mechaal, Morocco-Spanish runner
- Adel Messali, Algerian footballer
- Adel Mojallali, Iranian canoeist
- Adel Ibrahim Moustafa, Egyptian wrestler
- Adel Namane, Algerian footballer
- Adel Nasser, Iraqi footballer and coach
- Adel Nefzi, Tunisian footballer
- Adel Nima, Iraqi footballer and coach
- Adel Abdel Rahman, Egyptian footballer and manager
- Adel Sabeel, Emirati footballer
- Adel Sarshar, Iranian footballer
- Adel Sellimi, Tunisian footballer and coach
- Adel Sennoun, Algerian volleyball player
- Adel Sesay, Sierra Leonean sprinter
- Adel Smirani, Tunisian footballer
- Adel Taarabt, Moroccan footballer
- Adel Tankova, Ukrainian-born Israeli Olympic figure skater
- Adel Tlatli, Tunisian basketball coach
- Adel Weir, South African squash player
- Adel Zhexenbinova, Kazakhstani archer
Other
- Adel Abdulhehim, Chinese prisoner
- Adel Arnaout, Lebanese criminal
- Adel Abdel Bari, Egyptian terrorist
- Adel Hassan Hamad, Sudan prisoner
- Adel Iskandar, British scholar, postcolonial theorist, analyst, and academic
- Adel Ismail (historian), Lebanese diplomat and historian
- Adel Ben Mabrouk, Tunisian criminal
- Adel Noori, Chinese prisoner
- Adel Zaky, Egyptian Roman Catholic prelate
Family name
Arts and entertainment
- Daniel Adel, American painter and illustrator
- Sharon den Adel, Dutch singer and composer
- Ilunga Adell, American television and film producer, screenwriter and actor
- Adell i Pitarch, Catalan-language poet and essayist
- Traci Adell, Playboy Playmate of the Month for July 1994
Politics
- Ted Adel, Canadian politician, member of the Legislative Assembly of Yukon
Sciences
- Arthur Adel, American astronomer and astrophysicist
Sports
- Carolyn Adel, Suriname swimmer and Olympian
- Gun Ädel, Swedish cross-country skier
- Jo Adell, American baseball player
Fictional characters
- Adell, a major character in the video game Disgaea 2: Cursed Memories
- Adel Frost, a minor character in the now-discontinued two-dimensional side-scrolling MMORPG Grand Chase
- Adel, a minor antagonist character in the video game Final Fantasy VIII
- Adél, a character in GeGeGe no Kitaro
- Coco Adel, a character in the RWBY television show and novels
- Dr. Adel, a recurring character in the animated web series Masameer