Rada
Rada grows from the Slavic root rad, "glad" or "willing," the same feeling in the old Polish rad, pleased to do something. It stays rare, given only to girls, so meeting one is memorable, though it turns up again among newborns.
Rada Pronunciation
Rada is pronounced RAH-dah (/ˈrada/).
What Rada means
Where Rada comes from and what it has meant to the people who carry it.
Rada grows from the Slavic root rad, which meant glad or willing. Polish still keeps the old adjective rad, meaning pleased to do something, and the name gathers that mood into a person. The same root turns up across Slavic languages, in Czech and Croatian rad, glad. Its short meaning stays close by: radość and zadowolenie, happiness and contentment.
Rada sits inside a small family of names. Radosława is the fuller variant standing behind it, Radosław carries the root over to boys, and Radka is the everyday diminutive. Each one opens on the same willing syllable.
On a class register, Rada is short enough to fit any line. Two syllables, quick to call out. The name states its meaning without decoration: to be glad, and to be willing.
How many people are named Rada
1 in 77205 women in Poland is named Rada. 292 people carry it in the 2025 register: rank #1774 among female names.
Rada's popularity over time
2 girls were given the name in 2025, ranking #1788 among newborns. It has been climbing since 2024. Still the #1774 name among living women, even as it slips to #1788 among newborns.
Rada as a middle name
Rada is a first name for 292 women in Poland and a middle name for another 6, a 98/2 split. In the women's middle-name ranking it sits 3397th, between Racheal (6) and Rahma (6).
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#3395 Princesa6
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#3396 Racheal6
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#3397 Rada6
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#3398 Rahma6
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#3399 Raine6