2000
#18,506
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,376
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.51
Rare Last name
Amis
A French surname derived from the Old French word "ami" meaning friend or companion.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 1,680 Americans carry the last name Amis. That puts it at #18,606 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.49 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 204,020 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Amis 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 Amis with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
1.7K
1 in 204,020
Census rank
#18,606
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.5
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
1.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 1,465 bearers of the surname Amis in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.49 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 18606th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Amis, the largest self-reported group is White at 70.0%. The next largest groups are Black (18.5%) and Hispanic (4.1%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Amis
Among Census respondents with the surname Amis, the largest self-reported group is White at 70.0%. The next largest groups are Black (18.5%) and Hispanic (4.1%).
The bar chart below shows how Amis 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 Amis surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White70.0% · 1,026
- Black or African American18.5% · 271
- Hispanic or Latino4.1% · 60
- Two or more races4.0% · 58
- Asian and Pacific Islander3.2% · 47
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Amis
Amis 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
#18,184
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,530
+154 bearers (+11.2%)
Per 100,000 0.52
Rank movement Up 322 places
2020
#18,606
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,465
-65 bearers (-4.2%)
Per 100,000 0.49
Rank movement Down 422 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #18,506 | 1,376 | 0.51 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #18,184 | 1,530 | 0.52 | +154 bearers (+11.2%) | Up 322 places |
| 2020 | #18,606 | 1,465 | 0.49 | -65 bearers (-4.2%) | Down 422 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 Amis 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 | #18,184 | #18,606 | -2.3% |
| Count | 1,530 | 1,465 | -4.2% |
| Per 100K | 0.52 | 0.49 | -5.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Amis bearers went from 1,530 to 1,465 (-4.2% change). The surname moved down 422 positions in the national ranking, going from #18,184 to #18,606.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Amis
FAQ
Amis surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Amis?
Name Census estimates that about 1,680 living Americans carry the surname Amis. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 204,020 residents.
How common is Amis?
Amis ranks #18,606 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.49 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 1,465 people with the surname Amis. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (1,680), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.49 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.49 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Amis.
Has Amis become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Amis went from 1,530 recorded bearers to 1,465. That is a decrease of 65 (-4.2%). In the national ranking it fell from #18,184 to #18,606.
What does the Census say about the background of Amis?
Among Census respondents with the surname Amis, the largest self-reported group is White at 70.0%. The next largest groups are Black (18.5%) and Hispanic (4.1%). 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 Amis in the 2020 Census, accounting for 70.0% (1,026 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Amis appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (70.0%), Black (18.5%), Hispanic (4.1%). 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 Amis (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 Amis mean?
A French surname derived from the Old French word "ami" meaning friend or companion. 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 Amis (0.49 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 have the surname Amis?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.