ninan.org

Adam

Boys' name · Late 20th-century perennial

Living in the US
~539,100 survival-weighted estimate
2025 rank
#101 among boys
Births in 2025
3,511 582,453 since 1880
Typical age
37 years, median

Adam popularity over time

Adam rank by birth year, 1880–2025Adam ranked #123 in 1880 and #101 in 2025. Its best rank in the period was #18, in 1983.#100#101best #18 in 198318901920195019802010
Rank among US baby names by birth year, 1880–2025. Lower is more popular; the scale is logarithmic so the top of the chart is not compressed.

The high point was 1984: 24,081 births recorded as Adam. The name is already in use in 1880, where the data begins. Adam has spent 53 years inside the national top 100.

As of 2025 the name sits at #101, with 3,511 births that year. Compared with 2015, births are down 35%.

Babies named Adam per yearPeaks at 24,081 births in 1984.24,081 in 1984018901920195019802010
Recorded US births by year. The peak is labelled; the axis starts at zero.

How many people are named Adam?

An estimated 539,100 living Americans are called Adam. That is out of 582,453 recorded births since 1880.

This is a survival-weighted estimate, not a headcount: every recorded birth year is multiplied by the chance someone born that year is still alive, using the SSA period life table. How the estimate works.

How old is the average Adam?

Median age among living Adams: 37. The 1980s produced the largest surviving cohort. By the site’s era rules that makes Adam a late 20th-century perennial name.

Your Adam

Ages of living people named AdamHalf of living Adams are older than 37 and half younger.median 37020406080100
Estimated living bearers by age today. Each bar is a birth year, weighted by the chance someone born then is still alive.

Where Adam is most common

The name is concentrated in District of Columbia, at 2.3× the national rate. Michigan, New Jersey and New York follow.

Where Adam is used more than average5 states use the name Adam more than the national average.Alaska: not over-representedAKMaine: not over-representedMEVermont: not over-representedVTNew Hampshire: not over-representedNHWashington: not over-representedWAIdaho: not over-representedIDMontana: not over-representedMTNorth Dakota: not over-representedNDMinnesota: not over-representedMNIllinois: 1.7× the national rateILWisconsin: not over-representedWIMichigan: 1.8× the national rateMINew York: 1.7× the national rateNYOregon: not over-representedORNevada: not over-representedNVWyoming: not over-representedWYSouth Dakota: not over-representedSDIowa: not over-representedIAIndiana: not over-representedINOhio: not over-representedOHPennsylvania: not over-representedPANew Jersey: 1.8× the national rateNJConnecticut: not over-representedCTRhode Island: not over-representedRICalifornia: not over-representedCAUtah: not over-representedUTColorado: not over-representedCONebraska: not over-representedNEMissouri: not over-representedMOKentucky: not over-representedKYWest Virginia: not over-representedWVVirginia: not over-representedVAMaryland: not over-representedMDDelaware: not over-representedDEMassachusetts: not over-representedMAArizona: not over-representedAZNew Mexico: not over-representedNMKansas: not over-representedKSArkansas: not over-representedARTennessee: not over-representedTNNorth Carolina: not over-representedNCSouth Carolina: not over-representedSCDistrict of Columbia: 2.3× the national rateDCOklahoma: not over-representedOKLouisiana: not over-representedLAMississippi: not over-representedMSAlabama: not over-representedALGeorgia: not over-representedGAHawaii: not over-representedHITexas: not over-representedTXFlorida: not over-representedFL
Same as national3× or more
Location quotient, 2016–2025. Shaded states use the name more than the country does, relative to their own births. Exact figures are in the table below.
States where Adam is over-represented, 2016–2025. The location quotient compares the state's share of the name with the national share.
StateBirthsvs national rate
District of Columbia 172 2.3×
Michigan 1,746 1.8×
New Jersey 1,627 1.8×
New York 3,559 1.7×
Illinois 2,107 1.7×

Adam in England and Wales

ONS recorded 1,431 births named Adam in 2025, ranking it #26.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Counts below three are suppressed by ONS.

Where the name Adam comes from

From Middle English Adam, from Old English Adam, from Latin Adam, Adamus, from Ancient Greek Ἀδάμ, Ἄδαμος, from Biblical Hebrew אָדָם (“earth, man, soil, light brown”), from אדמה (“red earth, ground”).

Etymology summarised from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0. Wiktionary entry.

Notable people named Adam

Ordered by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article about them — a measure of reach, not of importance.
NameKnown forYearsEditions
Adam Smith Scottish moral philosopher and political economist 1723–1790 221
Adam Mickiewicz Polish national poet, dramatist, essayist, publicist, translator, and political activist 1798–1855 129
Adam Sandler American actor and comedian 1966 93
Adam Levine American singer 1979 72
Adam Riess American astrophysicist 1969 70
Adam Lambert American singer 1982 60
Adam Driver American actor 1983 60
Adam Weishaupt German philosopher and founder of the Illuminati 1748–1830 57
Photo credits (6)

The sharpest rise. Births under this name jumped from 582 in 1959 to 1,018 in 1960 — 1.7 times over in a single year.

Birth records contain the rise and nothing about its cause. This site does not supply one.

People and dates from Wikidata (CC0), limited to those with an English Wikipedia article who are known by this name as their first name.

Related pages

Get this data

Every number on this page is available as JSON: /api/name/adam.json. Free to use with attribution (CC BY 4.0).