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Home › Baby Names Directory › Glada

Glada

♀ Girl

How to Pronounce Glada

Pronounced GLAY-duh /ˈɡleɪdə/Medium

Meaning: Glada reads as a trimmed form or spelling variant of Gladys, the Welsh name Gwladys, which older sources tie loosely to a word for 'country' or link by folk association to Claudia. The bright open sound also chimes with the everyday English 'glad', which likely helped the coinage feel cheerful to the parents who used it.Low

In 30 seconds: Glada looks like a short, sunny spin on Gladys, itself the Welsh Gwladys, and carries an echo of the word 'glad' (said GLAY-duh).
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Origin LowWelsh, English
MeaningGlada reads as a trimmed form or spelling variant of Gladys, the Welsh name Gwladys, which older sources tie loosely to a word for 'country' or link by folk association to Claudia. The bright open sound also chimes with the everyday English 'glad', which likely helped the coinage feel cheerful to the parents who used it.
U.S. rank (1949)#3473 ↘ Falling
1949 U.S. births10 girls (0.00% of U.S. girls)
Peak year1920
Total births (all-time)≈ 486

Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data

peak 192018931949

U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.

SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.

History & Origin

Glada is best understood as a spin-off of Gladys, the Anglicised Welsh name Gwladys that swept America in the early twentieth century. Parents drawn to Gladys but wanting something a shade different landed on this shorter, brighter-sounding form, helped along by its likeness to the word 'glad'.

It was never common on its own: only a couple dozen girls a year at its quiet peak around 1920, and it had all but vanished from the records by mid-century. It belongs firmly to the Gladys generation and reads as a great-grandmother's name today.

Did you know? Glada peaked in the early nineteen-twenties, the same stretch when its likely parent Gladys was one of America's most fashionable girls' names.
Overall data confidence 40%
References - Glada / Gladys — Variant of Gladys < Welsh Gwladys; 'glad' echo

Variations

GladysGladdisGleda

Nicknames

GladAddie

Famous Bearers

  • Famous bearers coming soon.

If you like Glada…

Gladys— the fuller Welsh name Glada trims
Glenda— a like bright vintage girl's name
Gilda— a similar short, warm coinage of the era
Glenna— another soft two-beat name of the period

Explore names like Glada

By themevintagevariantwelsh

All themes →All meanings →All origins →

Frequently Asked

What does the name Glada mean?

It reads as a short form or variant of Gladys, the Welsh name Gwladys, and echoes the word 'glad'.

How do you pronounce Glada?

It's said GLAY-duh /ˈɡleɪdə/, two syllables, stress on the first.

Is Glada a boy or girl name?

Glada is used as a girl's name.

Is Glada a popular name?

No, it was always rare, a minor spin on Gladys that saw slight use in the early twentieth century.

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