A variant of Hadassah, the Hebrew name meaning myrtle tree and associated with Queen Esther.
Adassah is a variant spelling of Hadassah (הֲדַסָּה), one of the Hebrew Bible's most resonant feminine names, meaning "myrtle tree." The myrtle (Myrtus communis) holds a special place in Jewish tradition: its fragrant branches are carried during the festival of Sukkot, its sweetness is referenced in prophetic literature as a symbol of divine redemption, and in the Talmud the myrtle is associated with the righteous.
The name thus carries botanical, ceremonial, and spiritual associations layered across millennia of Jewish thought and practice. Hadassah is the Hebrew name of the biblical Queen Esther, the Jewish woman who became queen of Persia and famously risked her life to save her people from destruction — the story celebrated each year in the festival of Purim. This association gives the name extraordinary historical and narrative weight within Jewish tradition, and it has been borne by generations of Jewish women as a mark of that heritage.
In the modern era, the name gained broad institutional recognition through Hadassah, the Women's Zionist Organization of America founded in 1912, and through Jerusalem's Hadassah Medical Center. The spelling Adassah softens the aspirate opening, making the name's musicality more immediately accessible while preserving every syllable of its ancient and storied roots.