Amos
A surname that usually began as a medieval nickname or baptismal form linked to the personal name Amy/Amie, though it was later sometimes associated with the biblical prophet Amos.
The #1,517 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 13,071 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The strongest historical evidence in the excerpts treats Amos as a surname derived from Norman-French personal names such as Aimie or Amys, which later developed into forms like Amy and Amias. In that reading, the surname began as a baptismal or family-name formation connected with a popular medieval given name, not directly from the Old Testament prophet. Some 19th-century writers also suggested a Hebrew link to Amos, taking it in the sense of "burden," but they present that as a secondary or alternative explanation rather than the main surname origin.
History
The name appears to have been rare or absent in England before the 13th century according to the cited older scholarship, which argues against any deep medieval continuity from the biblical name. Later records show it in ordinary English use as a surname, and modern bearers are found widely in the English-speaking world. Because the surname overlaps with the well-known biblical forename, later writers sometimes reinterpreted it through that association.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname writers explicitly said the prophet Amos was not the source they favored for the surname, even though that biblical association is the one many people notice first.
From the historical record
“Toui-s." AMOS. The personal name. A:M0UR. A-Moor, that is, at or of the moor, from residence upon one. AMPHLETT. " Amflete, Amfleot et aliis Ampleot [Sax.], a haven in France (as I gesse) near Boloigne." Lambarde's Diet. AJISOX. Probably a corruption of Adamson.”
— Patronymica Britannica: a dictionary of the family names of the United KingdomNotable people named Amos
- Tori Amos (b. 1963)
Sourced from Wikidata; linked to their Wikipedia page.