Girl · Hebrew · Old Testament

Adah

AY-duh · from Adah · means “Ornament, adornment”

Adah is a Hebrew name meaning "ornament" or "adornment." Scripture records two women by this name, most notably a wife of Lamech in Genesis 4, one of the earliest women named in the Bible, in a genealogy that traces both human creativity and the spread of sin in the earliest generations.

“Lamech married two women, one named Adah and the other Zillah.”

The story behind the name

Adah appears in Genesis 4 as one of two wives of Lamech, a descendant of Cain, in a genealogy given only a handful of verses after humanity's first murder. Her sons, Jabal and Jubal, are remembered as the ancestors of those who lived in tents with livestock and those who played the harp and pipe (Genesis 4:19-21).

It is a brief and unusual passage, mixing the ordinary rhythms of family life, work, and music with a chilling boast from Lamech about violence and vengeance. Adah's name, meaning ornament, sits inside this account almost like a small point of light in a genealogy otherwise marked by sin's spread.

A daughter named Adah carries an ancient name, one of the very first women's names recorded in Scripture, and a quiet reminder that even in a fallen world, God's gifts of creativity, family, and beauty continue.

Middle names that sing with Adah

Chosen for rhythm and meanings that speak to each other.

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