The surname Adams appears to be derived from the meaning "son of Adam". Adam 
itself is of Hebrew origin, initially as a given name, with two possible 
meanings. According to some researchers, it means red, and refers to the colour 
of the person's skin. Other researchers say it is from the Hebrew word adama, 
meaning earth, possibly originally a reference, linked to the biblical Genesis 
story, to the Greek legend that Zeus created the first humans from earth. 
The name was mentioned in the Domesday Book, compiled in 1086. It was a very 
popular given name throughout Europe in the Middle Ages.

There is a large number of variants and derivative names in use, including many 
diminutive forms, but none have yet appeared in my own ancestry. English 
variants listed in Hanks & Hodges "A Dictionary of Surnames" are ADDAMS, ADHAMS 
and ADAMSON, with ABADAM and BADDAMS in Wales and MCADAM in Ireland and 
Scotland. I have found the spelling ADMES in a local Swindon, Wiltshire census 
for a man who was recorded as ADDAMS the previous year (his occupation changed 
at the same time from "butcher" to "boocher"!), and in Winterborne Zelston, 
Dorset parish registers I have come across ADDAMES and ADAMES.