Adamson
A patronymic surname meaning “son of Adam.”
The #2,205 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 18,695 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Adamson is built from the forename Adam plus the English surname suffix -son, literally meaning “son of Adam.” Adam itself comes through Latin and Greek from Hebrew and was one of the most common baptismal names in medieval Britain, which helped make Adamson a natural hereditary surname. Related forms such as Adams, Addison, and Adie often overlap in older records.
History
The name is well attested in medieval English and Scottish records, with examples in 14th-century Yorkshire and elsewhere. It appears in multiple surname traditions because the underlying given name Adam was so widespread, and some regional forms developed through familiar nicknames like Adie/Addie. In Scotland, related spellings and shortened forms were especially common.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Early surname writers often treated Adamson as part of a whole family of Adam-based names, alongside Adams, Addison, and Addie.
From the historical record
“under the supervision of Margaret, widow'of Hobbe the King, Hobbe Adamson, Jenkin of the Wood,' &c. (v. Three Lancashire Docu- ments, Cheth. Soc). One more quotation will suffice : 'We, Adam Backhoaa and Hanj”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances