One origin is the Germanic element "adel-" meaning "nobility", for example as part of the names Adelaide and Adeline.

Its equivalent for "first son" in the same clan is Tahitii and Okpara across all Igbo ethnic group in Nigeria.

Ada means "island" in Turkish, and it was the 35th most popular girls' name in Turkey in 2016.

[7] Finnish variant Aada was among the top ten most popular names given to newborn girls in Finland in 2020.

[2] Some of its popularity might also be attributed to Ada, Countess of Lovelace, the daughter of George Gordon, Lord Byron, who has been called the first computer programmer by some historians.