Originally the surname of Ames was from the Old French and the Middle English term of ‘Amice’ and the Latin term ‘amicus’ it referred to a friendly, beloved and social person. The various forms for spelling Ames include Amos, Ams, Aymes, Amis, Hames, Amess, Aimes, Emms and Emes. A common surname in England, Ames families are concentrated in the city of London, the counties of Kent, Norfolk, Hampshire, Somerset and Lancashire. In Scotland the Ames surname is in Perthshire, Fife, Midlothian and Lanarkshire counties. In the United States the Ames families primarily settled in Maine, Massachusetts, New York, Virginia, Wisconsin, Michigan, California, Illinois and Pennsylvania. Famous: Blanche Ames (women’s suffrage supporter, artist and writer), Ed Ames (movie actor and singer), Red Ames (a professional baseball player), William Thayer Ames (a music composer), Dr. Joseph S. Ames (founder of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics), Adelbert Ames (a Union Civil War and Spanish-American War general), Les Ames (professional cricket player from England) and Stephen Ames (professional golfer from Canada).