Heidi
Meaning
of noble kind (short form of Adelheid)
The story
Heidi is what affection did to Adelheid, the German form of Adalheidis, "of noble kind", the same ancient root that produced Alice. Switzerland made the pet form world-famous: Johanna Spyri's 1880 novel about the girl in the Alps traveled further than the formal name ever did. America barely used it before the 1960s; the curve wakes in that decade, crests through the 1970s and 80s, and has kept a steady line since, the mark of a name that arrived through a story and stayed on its own charm.
The formal names behind Heidi
Heidi is an established short form of this name.
Adelaide · Germanic origin · noble kind
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Heidi peaked in the 1960s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
See popularity in Brazil
Popularity in Brazil
959 people · the #8,530 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 200,000 · median age 41
Among people named Heidi living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1980s than in any other decade.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Heidi
Most people given the name Heidi in the United States were born between 1960 and 1999. The Heidi you meet today is most often in her 40s or 50s.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Heidi deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Heidi truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Heidi fits with your family’s names and surname.
Keep exploring
Does Heidi fit YOUR family?
nametree reads your family’s names and finds the ones that belong. Free, private, no ads.
Add Heidi to your family’s tree →