Variant of Hadassah, Hebrew for myrtle tree and the birth name of Queen Esther.
Adassa is a variant form of Hadassah (הֲדַסָּה), one of the most significant names in the Hebrew Bible. In Hebrew, Hadassah means "myrtle tree" — the fragrant, evergreen shrub that carried deep symbolic meaning in ancient Near Eastern culture. The myrtle was associated with peace, love, and divine blessing; it featured in Jewish festival observances (the lulav bundle of Sukkot) and was carried by brides as a symbol of joy.
To bear the myrtle's name was to be marked as a blessing and a harbinger of peace. Hadassah's most famous bearer is the woman known in the Hebrew Bible as Esther — her Hebrew name was Hadassah, her Persian name Esther. Queen Esther's story, celebrated at the festival of Purim, tells of a Jewish woman who courageously revealed her identity to the Persian king Ahasuerus and saved her people from destruction.
The name Hadassah has been honored in Jewish tradition ever since, and its variants — Adassa, Hadassa, Adassah — carry that legacy of courage, faith, and hidden strength revealed at the right moment. Adassa as a distinct form has found particular use in Sephardic Jewish communities and in communities across Latin America and the Caribbean where Hebrew names were adopted through colonial and religious history. It also appears in African diaspora naming traditions. The name has a musical quality — four syllables that move gracefully — and a story behind it substantial enough to fill a lifetime of telling.