2000
#1,834
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 17,969
First available Census row
Per 100,000 6.66
Uncommon Last name
Adair
A Scottish surname derived from a place name meaning "oak tree ford" in Gaelic.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 20,702 Americans carry the last name Adair. That puts it at #1,949 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 6.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 16,557 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Adair surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Adair with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
21K
1 in 16,557
Census rank
#1,949
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
6.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
18K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 18,053 bearers of the surname Adair in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 6.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1949th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Adair, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.8%. The next largest groups are Black (8.8%) and Two or More Races (5.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Adair
The surname Adair is of Scottish origin, derived from the Scottish Gaelic name Adhaimh, meaning "man of fire" or "Adam." The name is believed to have originated in the area of Galloway in southwestern Scotland during the medieval period.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the Ragman Rolls of 1296, which lists several individuals with the surname Adair or similar spellings, such as Adeir or Adeyr, who swore allegiance to King Edward I of England. This suggests that the name was well-established in Scotland by the late 13th century.
The Adair surname is also associated with the Adair family, a prominent Scottish clan that held lands in County Antrim, Ireland, from the 16th century onwards. Sir Robert Adair (c. 1580-1640) was a notable member of this clan and served as the High Sheriff of County Antrim.
In the 17th century, the name Adair appeared in the Muster Rolls of New England, indicating that individuals bearing this surname had migrated to the American colonies. One such individual was Robert Adair, who was born in Scotland in 1613 and settled in Massachusetts Bay Colony.
Other notable individuals with the surname Adair throughout history include:
1. James Adair (1709-1783), a British trader and historian who lived among Native American tribes and wrote extensively about their customs and traditions.
2. John Adair (1757-1840), an American pioneer and politician who served as the eighth Governor of Kentucky from 1820 to 1824.
3. Cornelia Adair (1837-1921), an American educator and philanthropist who founded the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1909.
4. Sir Frederick Adair (1886-1962), a British diplomat who served as the Governor of Bombay Presidency in British India from 1932 to 1937.
5. Gilbert Adair (1944-2011), an English novelist and filmmaker known for his works such as "The Holy Innocents" and "The Dreamers."
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Adair
Among Census respondents with the surname Adair, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.8%. The next largest groups are Black (8.8%) and Two or More Races (5.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Adair bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Adair surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White79.8% · 14,406
- Black or African American8.8% · 1,586
- Two or more races5.4% · 977
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 604
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.0% · 360
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 120
Timeline
Historical Census data for Adair
Adair appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#1,927
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 18,708
+739 bearers (+4.1%)
Per 100,000 6.34
Rank movement Down 93 places
2020
#1,949
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 18,053
-655 bearers (-3.5%)
Per 100,000 6.04
Rank movement Down 22 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,834 | 17,969 | 6.66 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,927 | 18,708 | 6.34 | +739 bearers (+4.1%) | Down 93 places |
| 2020 | #1,949 | 18,053 | 6.04 | -655 bearers (-3.5%) | Down 22 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Adair surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #1,927 | #1,949 | -1.1% |
| Count | 18,708 | 18,053 | -3.5% |
| Per 100K | 6.34 | 6.04 | -4.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Adair bearers went from 18,708 to 18,053 (-3.5% change). The surname moved down 22 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,927 to #1,949.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Adair
FAQ
Adair surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Adair?
Name Census estimates that about 20,702 living Americans carry the surname Adair. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 16,557 residents.
How common is Adair?
Adair ranks #1,949 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 6.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 6 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 18,053 people with the surname Adair. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (20,702), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 6.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 6.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 6 of them to have the surname Adair.
Has Adair become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Adair went from 18,708 recorded bearers to 18,053. That is a decrease of 655 (-3.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,927 to #1,949.
What does the Census say about the background of Adair?
Among Census respondents with the surname Adair, the largest self-reported group is White at 79.8%. The next largest groups are Black (8.8%) and Two or More Races (5.4%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Adair in the 2020 Census, accounting for 79.8% (14,406 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Adair appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (79.8%), Black (8.8%), Two or More Races (5.4%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Adair (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Adair mean?
A Scottish surname derived from a place name meaning "oak tree ford" in Gaelic. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Adair (6.04 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people are called Adair?
See how many Americans have the surname Adair on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.