Find out how popular the last name Adamson is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Adamson.

Adamson, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Adamson surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Adamson in America

Adamson is the 2205th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Adamson surname appeared 16,515 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 6 people would have the surname Adamson.

We can also compare 2010 data for Adamson to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Adamson

The surname Adamson originated in Scotland during the Middle Ages. It is a patronymic surname derived from the personal name Adam, which comes from the Hebrew word "Adam" meaning "earth" or "man." The addition of the suffix "-son" indicates that the bearer was the son of someone named Adam.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Adamson dates back to the 13th century. In the Ragman Rolls of 1296, which recorded the nobles and landowners who swore fealty to King Edward I of England, the name "William Adamsone" appears as a resident of Berwickshire, Scotland.

The Adamson surname can also be traced back to places like Adamton, a small village in Fife, Scotland. This place name likely evolved from a combination of the personal name Adam and the Old English word "tun," meaning a farm or settlement.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the Adamson name appeared in various Scottish records, including the Register of the Privy Council of Scotland and the Acts of the Parliaments of Scotland. Notable individuals with this surname include:

1. Patrick Adamson (1537-1592), a Scottish scholar and reformer who served as the Archbishop of St. Andrews.
2. Henry Adamson (1581-1637), a Scottish poet and minister known for his work "The Muse's Threnodie."
3. Michael Adamson (1650-1690), a Scottish mathematician and astronomer who made contributions to the study of astronomy and navigation.
4. John Adamson (1787-1855), a Scottish journalist and author who wrote extensively about the history and culture of Newcastle upon Tyne, England.
5. Robert Adamson (1852-1902), a Scottish-Australian poet and critic who was a significant figure in the Australian literary scene of the late 19th century.

Over time, the Adamson surname spread beyond Scotland to other parts of the United Kingdom and eventually to various parts of the world, including North America, Australia, and New Zealand, as Scottish emigrants settled in these regions.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Adamson

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Adamson.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Adamson was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Adamson has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Adamson was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Adamson, please contact us.

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