The Hebrew adam (אָדָם) is both the proper name of the first man and the common noun for 'humankind' or 'humanity.' The word is related to adamah (אֲדָמָה, ground/earth, H127), signifying humanity's creatureliness — formed from dust. It occurs over 560 times in the Old Testament.
Adam stands at the headwaters of biblical anthropology. As the first man, he received God's image (tzelem, H6754) and was commissioned to steward creation (Genesis 1:28). His fall in Genesis 3 introduced sin and death into the human experience (Romans 5:12). Paul contrasts the 'first Adam' whose disobedience brought condemnation with the 'last Adam' — Jesus Christ — whose obedience brings life (1 Corinthians 15:45). The name's connection to adamah (ground) is a powerful theological statement: humanity is earthly by constitution yet destined for divine relationship.