Amis Last Name: Meaning and Heraldic Roots

Whether you spell it Amis or Ames, the story begins in the same place. Name scholars give the meaning as “Friend”.

Amis coat of arms

There is no single Amis family crest for every bearer. Herald Lab researches the arms historically associated with the name and explains whose they were.

How the spelling arose

Spelled with “i” instead of “e”, Amis shows how the same name was heard and written differently.

In the 2010 US Census, 1,530 Americans gave Amis as their last name (rank 18,184). It sits among the 25,000 most common last names in the country. INSEE counts 279 people born in France with the Amis surname between 1891 and 2000; the busiest decade was 1961–1970. Want more than a summary? See the Amis family name pack.