Ames (surname)

Last updated

The surname Ames is usually either French, English or German in origin. [1] The French name comes from the noun amie, meaning a friend or a beloved. The surname also derives from the Old French and Middle English personal name Amys or Amice, the Latin amicus, or from a Late Latin derivative of this, Amicius. [1] The German roots of the name could have come from the Old High German word amazzig, meaning "busy," as a nickname for an active person. [1] The name also has connections to the modern German name Ameise, meaning "ant". [1]

Variations of the surname include Aames, Amass, Amess, Amies, Amis, Amiss, Amos, Hames, Haymes, Eames, and others. [2] The name may also be a contraction of Ambrose. [3]

The Ames family is an old and notable family in the United States.

People with the surname

Related Research Articles

Weber is a surname of German origin, derived from the noun meaning "weaver". In some cases, following migration to English-speaking countries, it has been anglicised to the English surname 'Webber' or even 'Weaver'.

Ackermann is a surname. "Acker" comes from German or Old English, meaning "field", and is related to the word "acre". Ackermann means "farmer". Notable people with the surname, also spelled Akkermann. include:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Easton, Massachusetts</span> Town in Massachusetts, United States

Easton is a town in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 25,058 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Greater Boston area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oakes Ames</span> American businessman, investor, and politician

Oakes Ames was an American businessman, investor, and politician. He was a member of the United States House of Representatives from Massachusetts. As a congressman, he is credited by many historians as being the single most important influence in the building of the Union Pacific portion of the transcontinental railroad. He is also noted for the subsequent scandal that alleged the improper sale of stock of the railroad's construction company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Borderland State Park</span> State park in Massachusetts, United States

Borderland State Park is an American history and nature preserve with public recreational features located in the towns of Easton and Sharon, Massachusetts. The state park encompasses 1,843 acres (746 ha) surrounding the Ames Mansion, which was built in 1910. The area was listed on the National Register of Historic Places as Borderland Historic District in 1997. It is operated by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, with an appointed advisory council that participates in policy decision-making.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oliver Ames Jr.</span> American railroad executive (1807–1877)

Oliver Ames Jr. was president of Union Pacific Railroad when the railroad met the Central Pacific Railroad in Utah for the completion of the First transcontinental railroad in North America.

Emerson is an English surname derived from Anglo-Saxon Emars sunu, meaning "Emar's son" or "Ethelmar's son". Another origin has been suggested as starting with the Old French epic hero Aimeri de Narbonne which passed into Italian as Amerigo and subsequently into English as Emery, Amery, and Imray, among others; Emerson is thought to derived as a patronymic from Emery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oakes Angier Ames</span> American philanthropist and businessman

Oakes Angier Ames was an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist in the Ames family of North Easton, Massachusetts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oakes Ames (botanist)</span> American biologist (1874–1950)

Oakes Ames was an American biologist specializing in orchids. His estate is now the Borderland State Park in Massachusetts. He was the son of Governor of Massachusetts Oliver Ames and grandson of Congressman Oakes Ames.

Randall is a surname of English and Irish origin. It is a cognate of the name Randolph meaning "shield-wolf", composed of rand "shield" plus úlfr "wolf". In Ireland, Randall may be an anglicized form of the Gaelic Mac Raghnaill meaning "son of Raghnall".

Beck is a surname of either Germanic or Hebrew origin, and is fairly common in English and Slavic speaking countries, Germany and Denmark. The Germanic name can mean "brook, stream" or be a variant of Becker, which is an occupational surname meaning "baker". In Hebrew, it exists as an abbreviated form of B'nei Kiddoshim. In some Slavic countries such as the former Yugoslavia and Russia it is spelled as Bek.

Forster is a north English surname meaning "forester". It can also be an anglicization of Förster or Foerster, a German surname meaning the same. Some indigenous south Germans independently carry the name Forster, while East Prussian Forsters are descendants of an 18th-century English Forster family. Notable people with this surname include:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blanche Ames Ames</span> American artist, political activist, inventor, writer

Blanche Ames Ames was an American artist, political activist, inventor, writer, and prominent supporter of women's suffrage and birth control.

Peterson/Petersen is a Scandinavian patronymic surname meaning "son of Peter." The given name Peter is derived from the Greek πέτρος (petros), meaning "rock" or "stone," and has been a popular name choice throughout history for the Christian apostle Peter. The surname is most commonly found in European countries such as Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Holland, and Brussels in the northwestern region. There are an estimated 700 variant spellings of the surname. The form Peterson may also have arisen from Danish Pedersen or Petersen with a change of spelling commonly applied by Danish immigrants to English-speaking countries. On another note, the surname Peterson is native to Sweden; therefore, Peterson is the correct spelling from that country.

Perry is a surname with several distinct origins. In England, deriving from the Old English pyrige, referring to one who dwells by a pear tree, while in Wales Perry, along with Parry, arose as patronymics, via a shortening of "ap Harry". There are some variants in the Romance languages : Pereira, Pereyra, Pereyro, Pereiro, Pereiros, Pereire, Perera, Perer, Perero, Pereros; the Norman French perrieur (quarry), possibly referring to a quarryman. Perry was recorded as a surname from the late 16th century in villages near Colchester, Essex, East England, such as Lexden and Copford. Perry has some resemblance with the Portuguese common surname Pereira, which means pear tree in the Portuguese language. Because of that, many Portuguese immigrants to the USA chose to "Americanize" their Pereira surname to Perry. The Italian surname, Perri, related to "Peter", is also often Americanized to Perry.

Russell, also Rosel, Rousel, Roussel, Russel or Rossell. The origin of the name has historically been subject to disagreement, with two distinct origins proposed. Early genealogists traced the Russel/Russell family of Kingston Russel from Anglo-Norman landholders bearing the toponymic surname 'de Rosel' or 'du Rozel', deriving from Rosel, Calvados, Normandy. However, J. Horace Round observed that these flawed pedigrees erroneously linked toponymic-bearing men with unrelated men who instead bore the Anglo-Norman nickname rus[s]el, given men with red hair. This nickname was a diminutive of the Norman-French rus, meaning 'red', and was also an archaic name for the red fox, which in turn borrowed from Old Norse rossel, "red-haired, from Old Norse ros "red hair color" and the suffix -el. Round concluded "there is no reason to suppose that the surname Russell was territorial at all," and surname dictionaries have preferred to derive the surname from the nickname. Dictionaries also state that the English name Rufus originally meant "red haired".

Oakes is a surname of Old English origin, meaning someone who lives by an oak tree or oak wood. It originates from the Old English word 'ac' meaning oak. The first recorded mention of the surname is in Somerset.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oliver Ames Sr.</span> American industrialist

Oliver Ames Sr. was the family patriarch of the Ames family of Easton, Massachusetts. He established the family shovel business, which over generations grew to become one of the largest family fortunes in New England.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frederick Lothrop Ames</span> American politician

Frederick Lothrop Ames was heir to a fortune in railroads and shovel manufacturing. He was Vice President of the Old Colony Railroad and director of the Union Pacific railroad. At the time of his death, Ames was reported to be the wealthiest person in Massachusetts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ames family</span>

The Ames family is one of the oldest and most illustrious families of the United States. The family's branches are descended from John Ames, the son of a 17th-century settler of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, and numerous public and private works throughout the U.S. are named after family members, including the city Ames, Iowa and the NASA Ames research center in California.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Ames name meaning". Ancestry.com. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  2. "Ames History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms". Houseofnames.com. Retrieved 17 November 2018.
  3. "Robert Eames (Ames) c. 1640". www.geni.com. Retrieved 17 November 2018.