Meaning Hebrew "man" or "earth," with the wordplay on adamah (ground) explicit in Genesis 2.
Figure First man; first human in the Genesis creation narrative.
Traditions CATHOLICORTHODOXANGLICANPROTESTANT
In the Christian tradition
Adam is the first man in the Genesis creation narrative, the figure from whom all humanity descends in the biblical account. Paul reads Christ as "the second Adam" (1 Corinthians 15:45), making Adam a typological figure in the Christian theological tradition.
Adam's name in Hebrew plays on the word adamah (ground, earth), making the name itself a theological statement about humanity's creaturely origin. The figure is central to Christian theology of the human condition: Paul's contrast between the first Adam and Christ as the "last Adam" or "second Adam" (1 Corinthians 15:45-49; Romans 5:12-21) is the basis for the Christian doctrine of redemption. Catholic, Orthodox, and most Protestant traditions hold this typology in different theological frames. The name has been used in Christian families across the centuries; modern usage is steady, particularly in English-speaking Protestant families.