Samuel

Boy name

Samuel has been given to 823,085 babies in the U.S. since 1880. It peaked in 2001 and currently ranks #18 for boys (2025).

Meaning & origin /ˈsæmjuːəl/

From Latin Samuēl, from Ancient Greek Σαμουήλ (Samouḗl), from Biblical Hebrew שְׁמוּאֵל (šəmûʾēl, literally “'God has set' or 'God has placed'”). Taken to mean a contraction of popular folk etymology שְׁאִלְתִּיו מֵאֵל (“I have asked/borrowed him from God”) (Modern: Šəʾīltīv mēʾĒl, Tiberian: Šĭʾīltīw mēʾĒl) by way of שָׁאוּל מֵאֵל (“asked/borrowed from God”) from [https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=1+samuel+1%3A20&version=NIV 1 Samuel 1:20].

Origin: Hebrew

Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Popularity over time births per year, 1880–2025

Hover or tap the chart to read any year.

Total babies

823,085

Peak year

2001 (14,845 babies)

Rank in 2025

#18 for boys

First recorded

1880

10-year trend

▼ -24%

Gender split

0% girls / 100% boys

Famous people named Samuel

Mark Twain

American author and humorist (1835–1910)

Samuel Beckett

Irish writer (1906–1989)

Samuel Johnson

English writer and lexicographer (1709–1784)

Samuel Taylor Coleridge

English poet, literary critic and philosopher (1772–1834)

Notability data from Wikidata (CC0).

Names with a similar vibe

Same primary gender, peaked around the same years, and roughly as common as Samuel.

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