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

Amis, 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 Amis surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Amis in America

Amis is the 18184th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Amis surname appeared 1,530 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Amis.

We can also compare 2010 data for Amis 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 Amis

The surname Amis originated in France, with its earliest recorded instances dating back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Old French word "ami," meaning "friend," which itself comes from the Latin word "amicus."

During the Middle Ages, the name Amis was likely used as a nickname or descriptive surname for someone who was considered friendly or amiable. The first known bearer of this surname was Radulfus Amis, mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Lincolnshire in 1176.

Variations of the spelling, such as Amys and Amyes, can be found in historical records from various regions of France, including Normandy and Brittany. The surname was likely introduced to England after the Norman Conquest of 1066, as many French names became established in Britain during this period.

One notable early bearer of the name was Sir John Amys, a knight who fought in the Hundred Years' War and participated in the Battle of Agincourt in 1415. Another was William Amys, a merchant and mayor of Southampton in the late 15th century.

In the 16th century, the Amis surname appeared in the records of the English College of Arms, indicating its recognition as a coat of arms-bearing family. One such bearer was Thomas Amis, a gentleman from Lincolnshire who lived during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.

The name Amis has been associated with various place names in England, such as Amis Farm in Gloucestershire and Amis Hill in Wiltshire, suggesting that some bearers of the surname may have derived their name from these locations.

During the 17th and 18th centuries, the Amis name continued to be found in various parts of England, as well as in American colonial records. Notable bearers include Jacob Amis, who settled in Virginia in the late 17th century, and Moses Amis, a Quaker minister and early settler in North Carolina in the 1730s.

Other historical figures with the surname Amis include John Amis (1759-1846), an English dissenting minister and writer, and Thomas Amis (1699-1768), an English clergyman and author who served as rector of several parishes in Lincolnshire.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Amis

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

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 Amis 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 Amis 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 Amis was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!