McAdams Surname Meaning & Origin
What the McAdams last name means, where the surname began and how it spread.
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Meaning and origin of the McAdams last name
Meaning of the McAdams last name: son of Adam. McAdams is a surname associated with northern Irish and Scottish naming traditions, related to McAdam with an added ending. The last name ultimately identifies a relationship to Adam. Its layers of name formation are more informative than treating the final s as a separate geographical origin.
Arms associated with the McAdams name
Sharing a surname establishes no coat of arms entitlement; heraldry follows documented individual lineages.
Get your full McAdams family history
This is only a glimpse of the McAdams story. The full McAdams history report goes much deeper into where the name began, who carried it and how the family spread, and it comes with a museum-style painted McAdams coat of arms. Get the full McAdams report.
McAdams name FAQ
What does the McAdams name mean?
Son of Adam.
Where does the McAdams surname come from?
It originates in Ireland, and is also found in the United States and Canada.
Is there a McAdams coat of arms?
Arms were granted to individuals rather than to everyone with a surname. Herald Lab paints a personalized McAdams coat of arms in museum style, based on historic heraldry.
Sources: Dictionary of American Family Names (Oxford); Elsdon C. Smith, Dictionary of American Family Names (1956), individual surname entries; modern indexed dictionary entries supersede conflicting interpretations..