Fun Facts About the Name Adams
- More than 1 thousand babies named Adams: U.S. records list 1,229 babies given the name Adams from 1880 through 2025.
What Does the Name Adams Mean?
Adams is an English surname used as a given name, and its established meaning is "son of Adam." The final -s is a patronymic ending, so the name originally identified a person as the son of a man named Adam. The personal name Adam comes from Hebrew ʾādām, meaning "man" or "human being." That Hebrew word is related to ʾadāmah, "ground" or "earth," and the traditional link between the two - the human shaped from the soil - is preserved in the Genesis account. The literal etymological sense of Adam is normally given simply as "man."
Adams Name History & Origins
Adam was carried into England as a personal name after the Norman Conquest of 1066 and became common there in the Middle Ages. The patronymic surname Adams grew out of that given name during the medieval period, formed with the genitive or patronymic -s ending. The surname spread throughout England and later into the American colonies, where it became one of the most widespread English family names.
As a first name, Adams belongs to the broad English practice of turning surnames into given names. In the United States it also appears as a way of preserving a family surname or honoring a relative, and it is frequently used as a middle name for that reason. The surname was made widely familiar by the Adams family of Massachusetts, including Presidents John Adams and John Quincy Adams, as well as by the many unrelated bearers of the name.
How Popular is the Name Adams?
Adams recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 1983. Its best rank was #885 in 1898.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #3,450 | 33 | 0.0019% |
| 2024 | #3,207 | 37 | 0.0022% |
| 2023 | #3,177 | 38 | 0.0022% |
| 2022 | #4,302 | 24 | 0.0014% |
| 2021 | #5,564 | 16 | 0.0009% |
| 2020 | #7,506 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 2019 | #5,156 | 18 | 0.0010% |
| 2018 | #6,038 | 14 | 0.0008% |
| 2017 | #4,223 | 24 | 0.0013% |
| 2016 | #5,127 | 18 | 0.0009% |
| 2015 | #7,072 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2014 | #6,632 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2013 | #7,546 | 10 | 0.0005% |
| 2012 | #7,064 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2011 | #7,018 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2010 | #8,814 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 2009 | #6,806 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2008 | #12,575 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 2007 | #5,906 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 2006 | #8,004 | 9 | 0.0004% |
| 2005 | #6,229 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 2004 | #5,496 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 2003 | #5,036 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 2002 | #5,133 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 2001 | #6,016 | 11 | 0.0006% |
| 2000 | #5,299 | 13 | 0.0007% |
| 1999 | #4,538 | 15 | 0.0008% |
| 1998 | #6,319 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1997 | #6,622 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1996 | #7,143 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1995 | #4,282 | 14 | 0.0007% |
| 1994 | #5,873 | 9 | 0.0005% |
| 1993 | #3,501 | 18 | 0.0009% |
| 1992 | #3,749 | 16 | 0.0008% |
| 1991 | #4,478 | 12 | 0.0006% |
| 1990 | #2,553 | 26 | 0.0013% |
| 1989 | #2,066 | 34 | 0.0017% |
| 1988 | #1,815 | 37 | 0.0019% |
| 1987 | #1,761 | 37 | 0.0020% |
| 1986 | #1,791 | 34 | 0.0018% |
| 1985 | #2,296 | 23 | 0.0012% |
| 1984 | #1,631 | 36 | 0.0020% |
| 1983 | #1,471 | 42 | 0.0023% |
| 1982 | #1,890 | 29 | 0.0016% |
| 1981 | #1,811 | 31 | 0.0017% |
| 1980 | #2,110 | 25 | 0.0014% |
| 1979 | #2,310 | 21 | 0.0012% |
| 1978 | #1,760 | 30 | 0.0018% |
| 1977 | #2,270 | 20 | 0.0012% |
| 1976 | #2,331 | 19 | 0.0012% |
| 1975 | #2,753 | 14 | 0.0009% |
| 1974 | #2,459 | 16 | 0.0010% |
| 1973 | #3,447 | 9 | 0.0006% |
| 1972 | #2,819 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1971 | #2,816 | 12 | 0.0007% |
| 1970 | #3,522 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1969 | #2,863 | 10 | 0.0006% |
| 1968 | #3,674 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1967 | #3,559 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1965 | #3,244 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1964 | #3,285 | 7 | 0.0004% |
| 1963 | #4,053 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 1960 | #4,043 | 5 | 0.0002% |
| 1955 | #2,965 | 8 | 0.0004% |
| 1953 | #3,803 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1950 | #3,686 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1939 | #3,115 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1938 | #3,536 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1937 | #3,175 | 6 | 0.0006% |
| 1935 | #3,253 | 6 | 0.0006% |
| 1933 | #3,644 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1932 | #3,364 | 6 | 0.0006% |
| 1930 | #4,003 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1928 | #2,844 | 9 | 0.0008% |
| 1927 | #4,211 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1924 | #3,507 | 7 | 0.0006% |
| 1923 | #3,824 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1922 | #3,254 | 8 | 0.0007% |
| 1920 | #4,290 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1919 | #2,387 | 12 | 0.0012% |
| 1918 | #2,699 | 10 | 0.0010% |
| 1916 | #3,901 | 5 | 0.0006% |
| 1914 | #2,103 | 10 | 0.0015% |
| 1913 | #2,827 | 5 | 0.0010% |
| 1898 | #885 | 7 | 0.0057% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Adams Shapes Your Personality and Life?
Powerful and complete. You are good intellectually and require several outlets for your energies. You are not a builder but a planner, and you want others to carry out your plans. You are bold, independent, inquisitive and interested in research. You know what you want and why you want it.
You are always looking for an opportunity to achieve financial and emotional security. You are basically peacemaker. You understand the law of harmony and desire to balance your life with those around you. You may feel incomplete without someone to share your love, ideals, wealth or work. You can be very sensitive and could appear a bit shy and perceptive. You have developed intuition, patience and the ability to nurture others. You can achieve the state of happiness if you are willing to accept your needs in a complimentary relationship and go to create them.
✦ Adams's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Adams's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.