Addis
A surname usually understood as meaning “son of Addy” or “son of Adam,” especially in England.
The #9,135 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 86,387 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Addis is generally treated as a patronymic built on the pet form Addy, itself a familiar medieval nickname for Adam. In that sense, the name means “Addy’s son” or more broadly “son of Adam.” The deeper root is the Hebrew name Adam, meaning “man” or “earth,” but the surname developed through everyday English nickname usage.
History
19th-century surname writers such as Bardsley and Lower connect Addis with other Adam-derived names like Addy, Addison, and Addey. The form appears in English records as one of several regional and spelling variants created from the same personal name base. It is uncommon today, but it survived as a distinct surname alongside the more common Adams and Addison.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname books sometimes gloss Addis as a compact form of the same family of names that produced Adams and Addison.
From the historical record
“lam.' Almost the prime favourite a font-name in the 13th century ; V. Addis, Adcock, Atkins, Atkinson, Addyman, &c. Adams is remark- ably well represented in Ihe United States. A single glance at (he Index Hotten's Lists of Emigrants will £ce to show that many Adams,”
— A Dictionary of English and Welsh Surnames, with special American instances