Adams Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Adams Family History

Adams Family History

The family history of the ancient name Adams was found in the irishsurnames.com archives.

Surnames developed a wide number of variants over the centuries. Many different spelling variations of the same name can be traced back to a single original root. Also, when a bearer of a name emigrated from Ireland it was not uncommon that their original name would be incorrectly transcribed in the record books upon arrival at their new location. Some names have dozens of spelling variations. Some Surnames were also altered over the years based on how they sounded phonetically, by their sound, and depending on the prevailing political conditions it may have been advantageous to change a name from one language to another. This was especially so in Ireland where most Gaelic names were 'anglicized' at some stage.

Variants of the name Adams include Adames, Adam and Adamson. This is a baptismal name meaning 'the son of Adam', a very old personal name taken originally from the Bible. This name is of Anglo-Norman descent spreading to the Celtic countries of Ireland, Scotland and Wales in early times and is found in many mediaeval manuscripts throughout these countries. Examples of such are a John fil Adam who was recorded in the 'Hundred Rolls ' in the year 1273 and a Johannes Adamson who was recorded in the 'Poll Tax', of the West Riding of Yorkshire, in the year 1379. In Ireland a branch of the Barrys of Rathcormac adopted this surname from the Christian name of their ancestor. It was found in the Carew papers as Barry alias MacAdam. In Scotland Adam 'son of Adam' was a witness to the charter by William Bruce to Adam of Carlyle of the lands of Kynemund 1194-1214. The Adams family crest (or coat of arms) came into existence many centuries ago. The process of creating these coats of arms began as early as the eleventh century although a form of Proto-Heraldry may have existed in some countries prior to this, including Ireland. The new more formalized art of Heraldry made it possible for families and even individual family members to have their very own family crest, coat of arms, including Adams descendants.