Samuel
Top 1000
About Samuel
Samuel has been so popular for so long that it's hard to believe it's still climbing, ranking in the US Top 20, just as it did all the way back in the 1880s. Friendly, solid, and versatile, it has never left the US Top 100, its low-point occurring in the 60s when it ranked at #91.
Propelled up the charts by the likability of the easy-going and unisex nicknames Sam and Sammy, the Biblical name also appears near the top of the rankings in Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Czechia, the Dominican Republic, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Moldova, the Netherlands, Norway, Puerto Rico, Quebec, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, and Switzerland.
Derived from the Hebrew Shemu'el, meaning "told by God", the name appears in the Old Testament, borne by one of the great judges and prophets of the Israelites, destined for a holy life from birth. He established the Hebrew monarchy, anointing both Saul and David as kings.
As to be expected with such a popular choice, Samuel is pronounced in a number of different ways, depending on language, accent, and dialect. In English, it can be SAM-yuhl or occasionally SAM-yoo-uhl. In French, it's SAH-MWEHL, in German ZAH-mwehl and in Spanish sah-MWEHL. In Dutch, it would be SAH-muy-ehl, in Portuguese su-moo-EHL or sah-moo-EW and in Polish sah-MOO-ehl. In Czeck, Slovak and Finnish, it is said SAH-moo-ehl while in Swedish, it would be SA-moo-ehl.
Love Samuel but want something a little less popular? You could try Samson, Saul, Samsa, Solomon, Ransom, Sasha, Amias, Bram, or Ambrose.
Pronounced SAM-yoo-ul.
As of October 2026, Samuel ranked #18 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #17 in 1880, Nameberry popularity #94.
Editor's take: The name Samuel is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "told by God".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #23 | 11,024 | 5,739.1 |
| 2015 | #23 | 10,900 | 5,686.7 |
| 2016 | #21 | 10,615 | 5,593.5 |
| 2017 | #21 | 10,447 | 5,644.1 |
| 2018 | #21 | 9,850 | 5,423.5 |
| 2019 | #22 | 9,321 | 5,195 |
| 2020 | #25 | 8,585 | 4,973.7 |
| 2021 | #23 | 8,573 | 4,900.3 |
| 2022 | #19 | 8,414 | 4,819 |
| 2023 | #19 | 8,019 | 4,687.9 |
| 2024 | #17 | 8,310 | 4,823.3 |
| 2025 | #18 | 8,334 | 4,879.2 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Samuel.
- Benjamin
- Thomas
- William
- Andrew
- Daniel
- Charles
- Nicholas
- Jacob
- Matthew
- Adam
- David
- Joseph
- Isaac
- Luke
- Nathaniel
- Patrick
- Nathan
- Alexander
- Joshua
- James
Samuel on lists
Famous Samuels
- Samuel
father of Abiah, of the tribe of Levi (1 Chr. 6:28)
- Samuel Gorton
American settler and civic leader in Rhode Island
- Samuel Johnson
English poet and author
- Samuel Adams
American revolutionary leader
- Samuel "Sam" Houston
American politician, 7th governor of Texas
- Samuel Finley Breese Morse
American inventor
- Samuel Langhorne Clemens
birth name of Mark Twain, American novelist
- Samuel Colt
American firearm inventor
- Samuel Chandler Crafts
U.S. Senator and 12th Governor of Vermont
- Samuel Louis "Sam" Warner
Polish,American film producer of Warner Bros.
- Samuel Moore "Sam" Walton
American founder of Wal,Mart Stores
- Samuel George "Sammy" Davis Jr.
American singer, actor, dancer
- Samuel Andrew "Sam" Donaldson Jr.
American news anchor
- Samuel Pack "Sam" Elliott
American actor
- Samuel Leroy Jackson
American actor
- Samuel Alexander Joseph "Sam" West
English actor
- Samuel Pepys
English diarist and politician
- Samuel Hearne
English explorer
- Samuel Chao Chung Ting
American physicist and Nobel prize winner
- Samuel Barclay Beckett
Irish novelist and playwright
- Samuel John Everett "Sam" Loxton
Australian cricketer
- Samuel Eto'o (Fils)
Cameroonian footballer
- Samuel Jackson "Sam" Snead
American golfer
- Samuel Barnett
English actor
- Samuel "Sam" Shepard (Rogers)
American playwright and actor
- Samuel Henry John "Sam" Worthington
Australian actor
- Samuel Atkinson "Sam" Waterston
American actor
- Samuel Michael "Sam" Simon
American TV producer and director
- Samuel "Sam" Rockwell
American actor
- Samuel "Sam" Cooke
American singer,songwriter
- Samuel Dale "Sam" Brownback
American politician, governor of Kansas
- Samuel M "Sam" Raimi
American film director and writer
- David Samuel "Sam" Peckinpah
American film director
- Samuel Alexander "Sam" Mendes
English stage and film director
- Samuel Cohen
birth name of Sammy Cahn, American songwriter
- Samuel Roy "Sammy" Hagar
leader singer of American band Van Halen
- Samuel Kelvin "Sammy" Peralta Sosa
Dominican baseball player
- Samuel E. Feinberg
birth name of Sammy Fain, American composer
- Samuel Anthony "Sam" Mikulak
American artistic gymnast
- Samuel Adrian "Sammy" Baugh
American football player
- Samuel Paul "Sammy" Kershaw
American country music singer
- Samuel Zarnocay
Jr., birth name of Sammy Kaye, American bandleader
- Samuel Baxter "Sammy" McIlroy
Northern Irish footballer
- Samuel Lee "Sammy" Green
American football player
- Samuel de Luque aka Vegetta777
Spanish YouTuber
- Samuel Kim Arredondo
Korean,American pop singer based in South Korea; former member of the duo 1Punch
- Samuel Umtiti
French professional footballer
- Samuel Ludwik Twardowski
Polish poet
- Samuel Seabury
American bishop and author
- Samuel "Sam" Irons (b. 1978)
English actor and photographer; son of actors Jeremy Irons and Sinéad Cusack
- Samuel Patrick
son of American actor Robert Patrick
- Samuel Wyatt Cohn (b. 2006)
son of American television journalist Elizabeth Vargas
- Samuel Jason "Sammy" Black (b. 2006)
son of actor/musician Jack Black
- Samuel Kai Schreiber (b. 2008)
son of actors Liev Schreiber and Naomi Watts
- Samuel Garner Affleck (b. 2012)
son of actors Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck
- Samuel Hawke Turner (b. 2014)
son of country music singer Josh Turner
- Samuel Joseph (b. 2016)
son of Savannah Mooney of TV's "16 and Pregnant"
- Samuel Thomas Lowe (b.2016)
son of reality TV personalities Sean and Catherine Lowe
- Samuel Scott Dillard (b.2017)
son of reality TV stars Jill (Duggar) and Derick Dillard
- Samuel George "Sam" Claflin
English actor
Samuel in pop culture
- Samuel Llewellyn Cornick
character in Mercy Thompson and Alpha and Omega by Patricia Briggs
- Samuel "Sam" Drake
character from the Uncharted game series
- Samuel "Sam" Temple
main character in Michael Grant's Gone series
- Samuel "Sam" Winchester
character on TV's Supernatural
- Samuel "Sam" Whiskey
main character in the Transformers franchise
- Samuel "Sam/Quinn" Quinn
character in the Blackwood Security series by Elise Noble
- Samuel Oak
Kanto professor in video game "Pokémon".
- Samuel "Sam" Healy
character on TV series "Orange is the New Black"
- Samuel "Sam" Alexander
aka Nova, character from Marvel Universe
- Samuel Thomas "Sam" Wilson
aka Falcon, character from Marvel Universe
- Samuel Zachary "Sam" Guthrie
aka Cannonball, character from Marvel Universe
- Samuel "Sammy" Lieberman
character on TV series "Dance Academy"
- Samuel Norbert Avery
deceased son of April Kepner and Jackson Avery on "Grey's Anatomy"
- Samuel J. Sullivan
aka "Nugget", the main character from "The 5th Wave" book series by Rick Yancey
- Samuel Joseph "Sam" Scudder aka Mirror Master
character from DC Universe
- Samuel Ratchett aka Lenfranco Cassetti
character from Hercule Poirot series
- Samuel Adams
American beer brand named after the revolutionary
- Samual Vanderboom
character in Rusty Lake: Roots
- Samuel "Sam" Malone
main character in "Cheers"
- Samuel "Sam" Roth
character in Maggie Stiefvater's "Shiver" trilogy