Addie means noble — the most affectionate diminutive of Adelaide/Adam/Addison. As I Lay Dying's Addie Bundren is Faulkner's most haunting narrator — she speaks from her own coffin. Addie is the vintage nickname revival at its most charming: five letters of Germanic nobility dressed in Sunday clothes.
Addie is a diminutive of Adelaide or Addison, from the Germanic adal meaning noble. Faulkner's As I Lay Dying (1930) features Addie Bundren, who narrates a chapter from her own coffin — one of the most extraordinary narrative devices in American literature. The name has revived as part of the vintage-nickname trend.
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First recorded
Earliest known use: Used as a diminutive for centuries; As I Lay Dying published 1930.
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Today
Addie remains a beloved choice, ranking #1252 in the US. 45,901 babies have been named Addie since 1880.
◈ Sources: Behind the Name, SSA data
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How popular is Addie?
1920peak year
The name Addie reached its peak in 1920, with 904 registrations (ranked #211). It first surfaced in U.S. records in 1880, roughly 40 years before its peak. Since the peak, the name has eased to well outside the top 1,000 (around #1252) today, averaging about 188 new babies per year. Addie's usage has held roughly steady recently. Across all years on record, approximately 45,901 American babies have carried this name.
Year-by-year registrations1880–2024 · U.S. Social Security data
Addie's Life Path 6 is the nurturer's number — noble nurturing. People named Addie tend to be warm, literary, and more formidable than their diminutive suggests.
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