Because there are so many Biblical names and so many vernacular translations produced before 1600, added the citations to the relevant entries is an on-going process we can generally add the Middle English forms from the Wycliffite translation of 1395 right at the start because there is a handy online searchable version of it available. One of the long-term adjunct projects of the Dictionary is to look at how various names are spelled in the earliest vernacular translations of the Bible, because these translations had a significant influence on how the names were spelled when they were used in common currency. (Many of the early examples are the names of priests.) We have examples of it from the Czech Republic, England (from the 12th C on it predates the later fads for Biblical names), Estonia, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, the Low Countries, Scotland, Sweden, Ukraine, and Wales - a pretty widespread distribution geographically, and also temporally as our examples range from the 8th to the 16th C. Adam was never an exceptionally popular name in medieval Europe but it was also never an entirely unpopular name. While we do not want to argue in this series of posts that medieval metaphysical and physical theories had any influence on what peopled named their children - that is almost certainly not the case - the one name that we can showcase for this element is actually one with a connection to the element itself: Adam derives from a Hebrew word for red clay or soil, which is purportedly what God made the first man from. The element for this post is ‘earth’: Earth, dust, dirt, ground, mud, clay, soil, etc. But we recently thought of a neat theme - the four elements! Earth, air, fire, water, the foundations of medieval metaphysical and physical theories…In what ways do they turn up in personal names? The first recording of the family name anywhere in the world is believed to be that to be that of German Adam, and dated 1273, in the "Hundred Rolls" of the county of Cambridgeshire, England, during the reign of King Edward 1st, 1273 - 1307.It’s been awhile since we’ve done a set of themed posts on this blog! They’re a lot of fun to write, but sometimes less fun to think up themes for (hint, hint, if you have any suggestions, leave them in a comment and we’ll see what we can do!). An example is Jean Adam, a witness at the French Huguenot Church, Threadneedle Street, London, on February 14th 1731. Some bearers of the surname in Britain descend from French Huguenot refugees who fled religious persecution in their own country. Surnames derived from given names are the oldest and most pervasive surname type, and in religious naming traditions, names were bestowed in honour of saints and biblical figures. Other very early recordings include Adam, the sub-prior of Melrose Abbey, Scotland, who became abbot of Cupar, Fifeshire, in 1189, whilst Alianor Adam, was recorded in the 1281 Assize Rolls of the English county of Cheshire. The baptismal name was always popular throughout Europe in the Middle Ages amongst the non- Jews, and is first recorded in England in the famous Domesday Book of 1086. These include such forms as Adami, Adamo, Adamsson, Adamsen, Dami, Adamski, Adamsky, Adnett, Adekins, Ade, Aitken, Aitkin, Atcock, Adamini, Adanet, Adamik, Adamcek, Adamcyzk, Adamec, Acheson, Adamovic, Hadkins, McAddie, Keddie, Kiddy, and many others. It is recorded in over seventy spellings. The surname can be English, Scottish, Irish, Polish, French, Catalan, Greek, Italian, German, Flemish, Dutch, Russian, Croatian, Hungarian, and was also given to 18th century Jews. It derives from the Hebrew word "adama", meaning "earth", and as such is believed to the source from which God created man as recorded in the Old Testament section of the Bible. This noble and distinguished surname is of pre-medieval origins.
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