Adam Mickiewicz (1798–1855), one of Poland’s great national poets, painted 1828 by Józef Oleszkiewicz
Adam means “man” in Hebrew, and may ultimately derive from the Akkadian word adamu (to make), the Hebrew word adamah (earth), or the almost-identical Hebrew word ‘adam (to be red; i.e., a reference to a ruddy complexion). All these etymologies obviously are very symbolic, given Adam is the name of the first man in the Biblical creation story.
The name is also used in English, German, French, Dutch, Georgian, Arabic, Catalan, Romanian, and the Scandinavian and Slavic languages. The variation Ádám is Hungarian; Ádam is Faroese; and Âdam is Jèrriais.
Adam has long been common in the Jewish world, but it didn’t become popular in Christendom till the Middle Ages. After the Protestant Reformation, it became even more popular. The name has been in the U.S. Top 500 since 1880, and began vaulting up the charts in the 1950s. It went from #428 in 1954 to #71 in 1970. Adam attained its highest rank of #18 in 1983 and 1984.
The name has remained in the Top 100 since. In 2018, it was #78. Adam is also #2 in Belgium, #3 in the Czech Republic (as of 2016), #5 in Hungary and France, #6 in Sweden, #9 in Ireland, #11 in Poland, #16 in Catalonia (as of 2016), #17 in The Netherlands, #18 in Northern Ireland (which hopefully soon will be reunified with the rest of Ireland), #24 in Scotland, #25 in Denmark, #36 in England and Wales, #39 in Israel (as of 2016), #40 in Norway, #41 in Spain, #43 in NSW, Australia, #44 in Slovenia, #50 in Switzerland and Austria, #51 in British Columbia, Canada, #55 in Italy, and #96 in New Zealand.
Adam was the name of one of my great-great-grandfathers, the father of the only great-grandfather I have memories of. Judging from the vintage newspaper stories I’ve found about him, he was quite the local character!
Scottish economist Adam Smith (1723–1790), author of one of the most boring books ever written, The Wealth of Nations
Other forms include:
1. Adamo is Italian.
2. Adán is Spanish.
3. Adão is Portuguese.
4. Ádhamh is Irish.
5. Aatami is Finnish.
6. Adomas is Lithuanian.
7. Akamu is Hawaiian.
8. Aadam is Estonian.
9. Aaden is Somali.
10. Adami is Greenlandic and old-fashioned Georgian.
11. Ādams is Latvian.
12. Adamu is Swahili, Amharic, and Hausa.
13. Adda is Welsh, though I’d avoid this in an Anglophone area. Unfortunately, many boys with names ending in A are teased, and there’s no saving grace of this being a widely-known male name like Nikita or Ilya.
14. Aden is Romansh.
15. Ārama is Maori.
16. Âtame is Greenlandic.
17. Áttán is Sami.
18. Hadam is Sorbian.
19. Jadóm is Kashubian.
20. Odam is Uzbek.
21. Adem is Turkish.
22. Y-adam is a rare Vietnamese form.
Feminine forms:
1. Adamina is English, Polish, and Romani.
2. Adama is Hebrew and English.
3. Adamella is a rare, modern English form. I’m really not keen on this name! Some names don’t naturally lend themselves to feminine versions, and look forced.
4. Adamia is English.
