Adele's Real Name: Adele Laurie Blue Adkins

Quick answer: Adele's full name is Adele Laurie Blue Adkins. She was born on May 5, 1988, in Tottenham, north London. Her surname is Adkins, and she performs under her first name alone. Her albums 19, 21, 25, and 30 made her one of the best-selling artists of her generation. She also won an Academy Award for the James Bond theme "Skyfall" (Library of Congress; Britannica).

Real name and early life

The Library of Congress name authority files her as "Adele, 1988-," with the variant "Adkins, Adele." A cataloging citation reads "Adele Laurie Blue Adkins; b. May 5, 1988, Tottenham, north London, England; known simply as Adele." Britannica gives the same date and birthplace and refers to her as Adkins when describing her early life.

According to Britannica, Adkins was raised by a young single mother in various working-class neighborhoods of London. As a child she sang contemporary pop and learned guitar and clarinet. In her early teens she discovered Etta James and other mid-20th-century singers and began to consider a music career. She trained at a government-funded secondary school for the performing arts. A friend posted her self-recorded songs on Myspace, and in 2006, months after graduating, she signed with XL Recordings.

Career highlights

Billing herself as Adele, she released her first album, 19, in 2008. Britannica notes that the title referred to the age at which she wrote most of the songs. It debuted at number one in Britain. A Saturday Night Live performance introduced her to U.S. audiences, and in early 2009 she won Grammys for best new artist and best female pop vocal performance for "Chasing Pavements."

Her second album, 21 (2011), included "Rolling in the Deep" and "Someone like You" and made her a commercial juggernaut. After throat surgery she performed at the 2012 Grammys. In 2013 she won a Grammy for "Set Fire to the Rain" from Live at the Royal Albert Hall and an Academy Award for "Skyfall," and she was named a Member of the Order of the British Empire (MBE).

25 (2015), led by "Hello," sold more than 20 million copies worldwide. It earned five more Grammys, including another sweep of album, song, and record of the year. Her fourth studio album, 30 (2021), dealt candidly with her divorce, and its single "Easy on Me" won the Grammy for best pop solo performance.

Name notes for searchers

Adele is her given first name. Laurie and Blue are her middle names, and Adkins is her family surname. She has recorded only as "Adele," which is why library catalogs file her under the single name with a birth year. Searches for "Adele Adkins" refer to the same person.