Ad — Meaning, Origin & Popularity

Boys' name

Short form of Adriaan

Ad has been given to 73 babies in the U.S. since 1888. It was used fewer than 5 times in 2025, so it doesn't appear in the latest year's list — today it's a genuinely uncommon pick. Its peak year was 1914, with 7 recorded.

Babies named Ad, 1940

1 in 384,000

Ad over time, 1880–2025

Boys

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Ad: meaning, origin, and history

Short form of Adriaan

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Ad means

Ad is a short form of Adriaan.

Documented naming usage and pronunciation

Ad is used in Dutch.

Another recorded pronunciation is /ˈɑt/ for Ad.

Origin, language, and formation

Ad is used in Dutch and East Central German.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Adriaan and André.

Pronunciation and spelling

In Dutch, Ad is pronounced /ɑt/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 73 boys were recorded with the name Ad between 1888 and 1940. Its highest annual count was 7 in 1914; its best national rank was #1,030 in 1888.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

How common is Ad?

Ad had fewer than 5 recorded uses in 2025, so these figures use 1940, the last year it was published.

Among all babies, 1940: 1 in 384,000; 6 of 2,302,666 births
Among boys only: 1 in 193,000; <0.01% of boys
Rank, 1940: Unranked; Fewer than 5 uses
Coin-flip room size: 266,016 kids; Even odds of a second one

Where Ad sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 1940 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%

Class of 30Under 1%

Grade of 100Under 1%

School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 266,016 children born in 1940 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Ad. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Ads were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Ad was born before 1921 — so the typical Ad is around 104 today.

Median birth year: 1921; About 104 years old
Biggest decade: 1920s; 41.1% of all use
Born in the last 25 years: 76.7%; A modern name
Recorded since 1950: 0; People you could plausibly meet

Choose a decade

1920s — 41.1% of all recorded uses (30).

Is Ad rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago: —; Not ranked then
Rank vs 5 years ago: New entry; Not ranked then
Rank vs 10 years ago: —; Not ranked then
Births vs 10 years ago: —; Not published both years
Share of its own peak: 0%; Peak was 1914 (7)
Years since peak: 111; Years
Year-to-year steadiness: Steady; 10.3% average annual change
Best rank ever: #1,030; 1888

Ad by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025: Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago: —
Best rank ever: #1,030; 1888
Peak year: 1914; 7 that year
First recorded: 1888
Last recorded: 1940
All-time count: 73
Count in 2025: Under 5

Names similar to Ad

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

Adar Adore Add Ade Adrit Adris Gad Ador Adib Adahir Adonus Ado Adoni Adir Rad Adrith Adiv Adi Adrius Adyant Adal Advit Adolin Adino

Sibling names for Ad

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

For a sister

Golda Lauretta Era Leatha Leone Mayme Hettie Catharine

For a brother

Gustave Waldo Orrin Winfield Dorsey Isadore Hyman Regis

Explore around Ad

Top names of 1914, Ad's peak year The 1910s in full Other names that peaked in 1888 Boys' names starting with A Short Dutch Boy Names