2000
#9,125
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 3,288
First available Census row
Per 100,000 1.22
Rare Last name
Adames
A Spanish surname derived from the given name Adam, which means "man" or "of the red earth."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 5,770 Americans carry the last name Adames. That puts it at #6,483 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 1.68 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 59,403 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Adames 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 Adames with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
5.8K
1 in 59,403
Census rank
#6,483
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
1.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
5.0K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 5,032 bearers of the surname Adames in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 1.68 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 6483rd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Adames, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 91.9%. The next largest groups are White (5.5%) and Black (1.6%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Adames
The surname Adames originated from the Spanish and Portuguese regions of the Iberian Peninsula. It is believed to have derived from the given name Adam, which has its roots in the Hebrew word "adamah" meaning "earth" or "ground." The earliest records of this surname can be traced back to the 12th century in various parts of Spain and Portugal.
During the Middle Ages, the name Adames was prevalent among the Jewish communities residing in the Iberian region. It is likely that the surname was adopted by Sephardic Jews who later converted to Christianity during the Inquisition period. The name then spread across Europe and the Americas as a result of migrations and colonization.
One of the earliest documented instances of the surname Adames can be found in the "Libro de Repartimiento de Mallorca," a 13th-century record of land distribution in the Balearic Islands. This document mentions several individuals with the surname Adames who were granted properties on the island of Mallorca.
In the 15th century, the name appeared in various municipal records and historical documents across Spain and Portugal. Notable individuals with the surname Adames from this period include Juan Adames, a Spanish navigator and explorer who accompanied Christopher Columbus on his second voyage to the Americas in 1493.
During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Adames family gained prominence in the Spanish colonies of the Americas. One notable figure was Diego Adames, a Spanish conquistador and explorer who participated in the conquest of Puerto Rico in the early 1500s.
In the 18th century, the Adames surname appeared in various records of the Spanish Empire, including military rolls and colonial censuses. Antonio Adames, a Spanish military officer and governor of Florida from 1736 to 1743, is one notable figure from this period.
Another prominent individual with the surname Adames was José Adames, a Cuban politician and revolutionary who played a key role in the struggle for Cuban independence from Spain in the late 19th century.
As the Adames surname spread across the globe, it has been associated with various historical figures and notable individuals. For example, Manuel Adames, a Mexican artist and painter known for his murals and frescoes, lived in the early 20th century.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Adames
Among Census respondents with the surname Adames, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 91.9%. The next largest groups are White (5.5%) and Black (1.6%).
The bar chart below shows how Adames 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 Adames surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino91.9% · 4,626
- White5.5% · 276
- Black or African American1.6% · 81
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.4% · 21
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 18
- Two or more races0.2% · 10
Timeline
Historical Census data for Adames
Adames 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
#7,245
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 4,604
+1,316 bearers (+40.0%)
Per 100,000 1.56
Rank movement Up 1,880 places
2020
#6,483
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 5,032
+428 bearers (+9.3%)
Per 100,000 1.68
Rank movement Up 762 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #9,125 | 3,288 | 1.22 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #7,245 | 4,604 | 1.56 | +1,316 bearers (+40.0%) | Up 1,880 places |
| 2020 | #6,483 | 5,032 | 1.68 | +428 bearers (+9.3%) | Up 762 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 Adames 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 | #7,245 | #6,483 | 10.5% |
| Count | 4,604 | 5,032 | 9.3% |
| Per 100K | 1.56 | 1.68 | 7.9% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Adames bearers went from 4,604 to 5,032 (+9.3% change). The surname moved up 762 positions in the national ranking, going from #7,245 to #6,483.
FAQ
Adames surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Adames?
Name Census estimates that about 5,770 living Americans carry the surname Adames. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 59,403 residents.
How common is Adames?
Adames ranks #6,483 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 1.68 per 100,000 residents, which is about 2 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 5,032 people with the surname Adames. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (5,770), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 1.68 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 1.68 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 2 of them to have the surname Adames.
Has Adames become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Adames went from 4,604 recorded bearers to 5,032. That is an increase of 428 (+9.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #7,245 to #6,483.
What does the Census say about the background of Adames?
Among Census respondents with the surname Adames, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 91.9%. The next largest groups are White (5.5%) and Black (1.6%). 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?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Adames in the 2020 Census, accounting for 91.9% (4,626 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Adames appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (91.9%), White (5.5%), Black (1.6%). 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 Adames (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 Adames mean?
A Spanish surname derived from the given name Adam, which means "man" or "of the red earth." 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 Adames (1.68 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 common is the surname Adames?
If you just want to know how many people are called Adames, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.