My last name is Adams. How did that last name come about? Johnson=John's son. But Adams?

Question

The last name Adams is very popular in England. It means "man, Earth". But I don't understand how it came about. I mean, if you were John's son your surname would be Johnson. If you lived in a hill your surname would be Hill. If you had brown hair you might be surnamed Brown. But how did Adams come about? I don't know why someone would want to be surnamed that? How? Why? When?

Answer 1

Adams  

Last name origins & meanings:

English (very common in England, especially in the south Midlands, and in Wales) and German (especially northwestern Germany): patronymic from the personal name Adam. In the U.S. this form has absorbed many patronymics and other derivatives of Adam in languages other than English. (For forms, see Hanks and Hodges 1988.)

This American family name was borne by two early presidents of the United States, father and son. They were descended from Henry Adams, who settled in Braintree, MA, in 1635/6, from Barton St. David, Somerset, England. The younger of the two presidents, John Quincy Adams (1767–1848) derived his middle name from his maternal grandmother’s family name.

Adamson    

Last name origin & meaning:

Common patronymic form of Adam, especially in Scotland, where the name is borne by a sept of clan McIntosh. In the U.S., this form may also have absorbed some patronymic forms of Adam in various other languages. Compare Adams.

People had first names before the adoption of surnames, many first names were taken from holy books and writings like the Bible, during the period of the adoption of surnames many first names simply became the surname, e.g. Johns, Robert/s, William/s, Adam/s or Johnson, Robertson, Williamson or Adamson.

Answer 2

www.surnamedb.com

Surname: Adams

This interesting surname is a patronymic of Adam, which is of English origin, and is from the Hebrew personal name "Adam", which was borne, according to Genesis, by the first man. The name is of uncertain etymology; however, it is often said to be from the Hebrew "adama", earth. It was very popular as a given name among non-Jews throughout Europe in the Middle Ages. The personal name was first recorded in England with one "Adam Warenarius " in Lincolnshire in 1146 - 1153. The surname development since 1281 (see below) includes the following: John Adamsone (1296, Scotland), William Adames (1327, Worcestershire) and Richard Adamessone (circa 1400, Norfolk). The second president of the United States, John Adams (1735 - 1826), and his son John Quincy Adams (1767 - 1848), who became the sixth president, were descended from Henry Adams, a yeoman farmer who had emigrated from Barton St. David, Somerset, to Massachusetts (United States of America) in 1640. Among the recordings in London is the marriage of Robert Adams and Jane Stanton on September 25th 1573 at St. Dunstan's, Stepney. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Alianor Adam, which was dated 1281, witness in the "Assize Rolls of Cheshire", during the reign of King Edward 1, known as "The Hammer of the Scots", 1272 - 1307. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

www.familysearch.org  has these spellings: ADAM, ADAMS, ODAM , ADAMSE, ADDAMES , ADAMSON, ADAMSEN , ADAMSDR (for "Adam's daughter"), ADAMSSON , ADAMSDOTTER, & ADAMSDATTER . The name is found world-wide.

   Earliest listings  I could find were :

Robert Adams , Sr.--Birth:   abt 1474  in England.

ABRAHAM**  ADAMS--Christened   03 DEC 1587,St Mary Whitechapel, Stepney, London, England (**-I assume. It just had "Abraha. Adams" showing)

Answer 3

This is a bit of a weird question...

If your father was named John, it doesn't mean your last name would be Johnson...

I don't really understand what you're saying, but however, maybe "Adams (man, Earth)" derived from Adam and Eve.

ADAM was the first MAN on EARTH.

Answer 4

Son of Adam could have been named Adams or Adamson.  Son of John could be Johns, Johnson or Jones.

Edit: Apparently the following poster does not understand how surnames came about when they were first taken or assigned during the last melennium.  In England most people had one by the end of the 14th century based on a) being the son of someone b) their occupation c) where they lived d)some characteristic about them.