Sam
Sam was the 647th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 428 babies. Its best year was 1882, when it ranked 30th; the most babies were born in 1918 (2,506). Over the last ten years it has moved down 100 places. More babies were named Sam in the 1920s than in any other decade.
Meaning short for Samuel (or Samantha) · Hebrew, English
Say it SAM /sæm/
- Rank in 2025
- #647 boys, up 8 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 428boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 19182,506 babies
- Total since 1880
- 128,810babies recorded
What does the name Sam mean?
Sam is a short form of Samuel and Samson, and for girls of Samantha, as Wiktionary notes. It has long been given as a full name too. Samuel's meaning is disputed: DMNES gives either "name of God" or "God has heard." In 1 Samuel 1:20 Hannah names her son Samuel, saying, "I asked God for him," and the JPS translators note the play on Hebrew words for "asked of God." Samson, by contrast, DMNES explains as "of the sun." Sam has been used in the US since 1880.
שְׁמוּאֵל (Biblical Hebrew, “Samuel (name of God / God has heard)”)
How sure is this? Disputed. Samuel's meaning is disputed (DMNES); the Bible explains it with a wordplay on 'asked of God'.
Related names: Samuel, Samson, Samantha, Sammy, Sammie.
See also: Hebrew names.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Sam' (English section), Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0; facts restated, no text reused)
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, ed. S. L. Uckelman, Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Samuel', DMNES (Durham University)
- Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, ed. S. L. Uckelman, Edition 2023 no. 1, s.v. 'Sampson', DMNES (Durham University)
- 1 Samuel 1:20, The JPS Tanakh: Gender-Sensitive Edition, with translators' note (via Sefaria), Jewish Publication Society / Sefaria
- US Social Security Administration, national baby-name data 1880-2025 (yob*.txt), team3 computation of first year recorded, US Social Security Administration (public domain)
Nicknames for Sam
The usual nicknames for Sam are Sammy. Some parents skip the long form: for every 100 boys named Sam in the last five years, 26 were named Sammy, against 38 twenty years earlier.
| Nickname | Kind | Rank 2025 | Boys, 5 years |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sammy · also for Samuel, Samantha | Traditional | #1,864 | 534 |
Nicknames reviewed by our editors; counts are boys given the nickname as their legal first name. Nobody records how many Sams go by each one.
Sam popularity since 1880
A few girls are given the name too: 1,576 since 1888, 24 in 2025.
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #647 | 428 |
| 2020 | #655 | 402 |
| 2010 | #472 | 550 |
| 2000 | #460 | 517 |
| 1990 | #397 | 586 |
| 1980 | #429 | 364 |
| 1970 | #321 | 600 |
| 1960 | #228 | 1,211 |
| 1950 | #207 | 956 |
| 1940 | #150 | 1,147 |
| 1930 | #110 | 1,668 |
| 1920 | #84 | 2,283 |
| 1910 | #40 | 888 |
| 1900 | #34 | 821 |
| 1890 | #41 | 489 |
| 1880 | #36 | 457 |
How popular is Sam, counting every spelling?
Sam is the most common spelling of a name family that ranked #635 for boys in 2025 once every spelling is counted together, compared with #647 for Sam on its own. Together these spellings went to 428 boys in 2025.
| Spelling | Babies 2025 | Official rank | Babies 2021–2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sam | 428 | #647 | 2,086 |
Spellings count together when they sound the same in American English and are used for the same sex; nicknames and forms that sound different (such as Theo and Theodore) are kept apart. How we group spellings.
How many kids will share the name Sam?
428 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Sam (0.12 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Sam born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 20 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Sam.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Sam?
About 46,700 people born in the US named Sam are alive today, with a median age of 50; half are between 24 and 69. That makes Sam mostly worn by adults in their thirties to fifties. The wide spread shows a name popular in two different eras.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Sam by state
How common Sam was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Utah (2.7×), New York (2.5×), New Jersey (2.0×), Massachusetts (1.9×), Oregon (1.9×). It is least common, relative to the national rate, in Kentucky, Iowa, Wisconsin.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Sam: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Sam, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Sam · Sibling names for Sam
Sam is also a nickname for Samuel, Samantha, Samara and Samson.
Questions about the name Sam
What does Sam mean?
Sam is usually explained as “short for Samuel (or Samantha)”, but this is disputed. Certainty: disputed.
How popular is the name Sam?
Sam was the 647th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 428 babies. Its best year was 1882, when it ranked 30th; the most babies were born in 1918 (2,506). Over the last ten years it has moved down 100 places. More babies were named Sam in the 1920s than in any other decade.
Is Sam a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Sam in the US.
Where is Sam most popular?
In 2021–2025, Sam was most common in Utah (0.66 per 1,000 boys), followed by New York and New Jersey.