2000
#2,065
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,080
First available Census row
Per 100,000 5.96
Uncommon Last name
Adamson
Son of Adam, a patronymic surname derived from the Biblical figure Adam, the first man.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 18,509 Americans carry the last name Adamson. That puts it at #2,200 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 5.40 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 18,518 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Adamson 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 Adamson with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
19K
1 in 18,518
Census rank
#2,200
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
5.4
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
16K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 16,141 bearers of the surname Adamson in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 5.40 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 2200th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Adamson, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.8%. The next largest groups are Black (8.4%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Adamson
Among Census respondents with the surname Adamson, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.8%. The next largest groups are Black (8.4%) and Two or More Races (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Adamson 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 Adamson surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.8% · 13,372
- Black or African American8.4% · 1,361
- Two or more races3.8% · 610
- Hispanic or Latino3.7% · 595
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 123
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.5% · 80
Timeline
Historical Census data for Adamson
Adamson 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
#2,205
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,515
+435 bearers (+2.7%)
Per 100,000 5.60
Rank movement Down 140 places
2020
#2,200
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 16,141
-374 bearers (-2.3%)
Per 100,000 5.40
Rank movement Up 5 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #2,065 | 16,080 | 5.96 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #2,205 | 16,515 | 5.60 | +435 bearers (+2.7%) | Down 140 places |
| 2020 | #2,200 | 16,141 | 5.40 | -374 bearers (-2.3%) | Up 5 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 Adamson 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 | #2,205 | #2,200 | 0.2% |
| Count | 16,515 | 16,141 | -2.3% |
| Per 100K | 5.60 | 5.40 | -3.6% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Adamson bearers went from 16,515 to 16,141 (-2.3% change). The surname moved up 5 positions in the national ranking, going from #2,205 to #2,200.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Adamson
FAQ
Adamson surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Adamson?
Name Census estimates that about 18,509 living Americans carry the surname Adamson. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 18,518 residents.
How common is Adamson?
Adamson ranks #2,200 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 5.40 per 100,000 residents, which is about 5 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 16,141 people with the surname Adamson. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (18,509), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 5.4 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 5.40 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 5 of them to have the surname Adamson.
Has Adamson become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Adamson went from 16,515 recorded bearers to 16,141. That is a decrease of 374 (-2.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #2,205 to #2,200.
What does the Census say about the background of Adamson?
Among Census respondents with the surname Adamson, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.8%. The next largest groups are Black (8.4%) and Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Adamson in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.8% (13,372 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Adamson appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (82.8%), Black (8.4%), Two or More Races (3.8%). 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 Adamson (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 Adamson mean?
Son of Adam, a patronymic surname derived from the Biblical figure Adam, the first man. 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 Adamson (5.40 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 Adamson?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans have the surname Adamson on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.