Adam
Masculine · Hebrew roots · “man”
Adam is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 580,378 boys against 2,075 girls since 1880. See Adam as a girl name
Adam is one of the oldest names still in ordinary use — the first name in the Hebrew Bible, and a name spoken continuously in Jewish, Christian and Muslim tradition ever since. It has crossed languages with almost no damage: the same four letters work in English, French, Polish and Arabic. Two flat syllables, nothing to explain, nothing to spell out over the phone.
How old is the name Adam?
Adam was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Adam alive today was born around 1987, making them about 38 years old. About 537,000 people named Adam are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Adam most popular?
Adam peaked in 1983, reaching #18 nationally. Today it ranks #101, 83 places below that high. See the whole 1983 chart.
Where it comes from
From אָדָם (Hebrew Adam) to Adam
The story of Adam
The name is Hebrew, and it begins as a common noun for humankind before it becomes a personal name in the opening chapters of Genesis. The Greek translators of the Hebrew Bible carried it over unchanged as Ἀδάμ, Latin kept it as Adam, and from there it entered every language the Bible reached. Adam is also named among the prophets in the Quran, which gave it a second, independent path across the Arabic-speaking world. In medieval England it was one of the standard men's names, common enough to leave surnames behind it — Adams, Adamson, Addison — and it has never really gone away since.
Meaning
man, human being
In Genesis the word is built on the same root as adamah, "ground" or "earth" — the text plays on the connection deliberately, and translators have followed it for centuries.
Cultural footprint
Adam Smith (b. 1723) — The Wealth of Nations founded modern economics
Adam Sandler (b. 1966) — Comedy megastar
Adam Levine (b. 1979) — Maroon 5 frontman
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
How the name formed
- אָדָםHebrew Adam
- ἈδάμGreek Adam
- AdamLatin
- AdamEnglish
Related forms: آدم (Adam) · אָדָם (Adam) · Adán · Adamo · Ádám · Ádhamh
Pronouncing Adam
AD-am
Stress on the first syllable, the second reduced to a soft 'um'. In France it charts too, said closer to ah-DAM with the stress moved back; Polish and Hungarian speakers give both vowels fuller value.
Nicknames for Adam
High
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 198423,939 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #18reached in 1983
- Change vs 2022
- −3.8%3,501 in 2025, from 3,638
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Adam in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- آدم (Adam) in Arabic — transliteration
- אָדָם (Adam) in Hebrew — same name
- Adán in Spanish — same name
- Adamo in Italian — same name
- Ádám in Hungarian — spelling variant
- Ádhamh in Irish — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, New York. INSEE rounds every published count to the nearest five for statistical confidentiality; the ranks are calculated from the exact figures. International figures from INSEE, Statistics Canada, National Records of Scotland, Office for National Statistics. Sources
Adams among us
people named Adam are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 488 born in 2025 was named Adam
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Stephen test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Adam's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Stephen climbed just as high around 1949, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Stephen's path sketches the road Adam is walking now.
Adam peaked long ago yet still holds steady — names that survive their own wave usually settle into quiet, durable classics.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Adam is headed
Adam should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Adam beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Adam in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- One spelling everywhere. Nobody in the English-speaking world needs it clarified, and it survives intact into Arabic, French, Polish and Hebrew.
- An unbroken written record from the earliest books of the Hebrew Bible to this year's class lists — few names can show a line that long.
- Recognized in Jewish, Christian and Muslim tradition alike, which makes it unusually portable across families and countries.
- Short enough that it needs no nickname, but with Ad and Addy available if one is wanted.
- The Adam-and-Eve pairing is inescapable, and so is 'Adam's apple.' Neither causes trouble day to day, but it does mean the name arrives with a story already attached — and a sibling named Eve or Eva may sound more like a set than you intend.
- There are a great many adult Adams walking around, most of them now in their thirties and forties, so the name reads as grown-up to many people even on a small child. A boy named Adam today, though, is unlikely to share it with a classmate.
- Nickname options are thin and slightly dated. If you want a name with several affectionate forms to grow into, Adam mostly stays Adam.
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What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Adam
Masculine · Hebrew roots · #101 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Adams are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 537,000 people named Adam are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Adam in 2025?
- Adam ranks #101 among US boy names in 2025, with 3,501 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Adam?
- About 1 in every 488 US boys born in 2025 was named Adam — 3,501 in all.
- Will my child share the name Adam with classmates?
- Adam will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Adam
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Myles#100 · Parker#102 · Colton#103 · Ryan#99 · Archer#98 · Eli#104 · Eithan#97 · Amir#105
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Adam? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Adam and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Or jump into a head-to-head
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Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration; international figures from national statistics agencies. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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