Sam
Top 1000
About Sam
Sam has long been used on its own for boys, as accepted standing by itself as it is as a short form of Samuel. Straightforward and down-to-earth, Sam is the name of the son of the co-stars of The Americans, Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys. Sam is one of the most popular names that start with S in the Western world, ranking higher in several European countries than it does in the US, where it's trended downward since the 19th century, though it's always been in the Top 1000.
As of October 2026, Sam ranked #647 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #30 in 1882, Nameberry popularity #585.
Editor's take: The name Sam is a boy's name of Hebrew, English origin meaning "told by God".
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #534 | 523 | 272.3 |
| 2015 | #547 | 523 | 272.9 |
| 2016 | #580 | 478 | 251.9 |
| 2017 | #538 | 527 | 284.7 |
| 2018 | #604 | 453 | 249.4 |
| 2019 | #618 | 442 | 246.3 |
| 2020 | #655 | 402 | 232.9 |
| 2021 | #659 | 412 | 235.5 |
| 2022 | #658 | 418 | 239.4 |
| 2023 | #675 | 403 | 235.6 |
| 2024 | #651 | 423 | 245.5 |
| 2025 | #647 | 428 | 250.6 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 20 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Sam.
Sam on lists
Famous Sams
- Sam Shepard (nee Samuel Shepard Rogers III)
American playwright and actor
- Sam Wills
prop comic
- Samuel Atkinson "Sam" Waterston
American actor
- Nigel John Dermot "Sam" Neill
New Zealand actor
- Samuel Jacob "Sam" Bradford
American football player
- Sam Page
(born Samuel L. Elliott), American actor
- Sam Newton Battenberg Faulkner
English singer,songwriter
- Samuel George "Sam" Claflin
English actor
- Sam Rockwell
American actor
- Sam Lowry Hunt
American singer,songwriter
- Sam Fox
son of Michael J. Fox
- Sam Evans (b. 2016)
son of Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys
- Sam Griffiths
Australian horse rider
- Sam Brody Jenner
American television personality
- Sam H. Harris
American producer and theater owner
- Sam "SG" Lewis
British DJ and producer
Sam in pop culture
- Sam Harmon
character in "Ocean's" series
- Samwell "Sam" Tarley
character on HBO's "Game of Thrones"
- Sam Malone
main character on NBC's "Cheers"
- Samuel "Sam" Winchester
main character on The CW's "Supernatural"
- Sam Wilson
aka Falcon, Marvel Comics character
- Samwise "Sam" Gamgee
hobbit from "The Lord of the Rings"
- Sam Whitwickey
main character in "Transformers" movies
- Sam Evans
character on Fox's "Glee"
- Sam Healy
character on Netflix's "Orange Is the New Black"
- Sam Camden
one of the twins on The CW's "7th Heaven"
- Sam Conroy
character in the movie "American Violet"
- Sam Coyote
character on CBS' "Walker, Texas Ranger"
- Sam Roth
character in Maggie Stiefvator's series "Wolves of Mercy Falls"
- Sam Temple
protagonist from "Gone" series
- Sam Braddock
character on CTV's "Flashpoint"
- Samuel "Sam" Alexander
aka Nova, Marvel superhero
- Sam Radley
character in the "Hardy Boys" series
- Sam Hanna
Special Agent on CBS' "NCIS: Los Angeles"
- Sam Bell
character in "Moon"
- Sam the Onion Man
character from the book and film "Holes"
- Sam Sekemoto
character in "The Sims 3" computer game
- Sam Anderson
character on AMC's "The Walking Dead"
- Sam
character on ABC's "Private Practice"
- Sam
character in the movie Lost Boys
- Sam Lane
character on The CW's "Supergirl"
- Samuel Joseph "Sam" Scudder aka Mirror Master
character on The CW's "The Flash"
- Big Sam
character in "Gone with the Wind"
- Sam (Sam
I,Am), character from "Green Eggs and Ham" by Dr. Seuss
- Uncle Sam
a character used to help the United States to recruit men into the military
- Sam Quintana
character in the young adult book "Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe," by Benjamin Alire Sáenz.
- Sam Scott
character on Channel 4's "extr@"
- Sam Cortland
character in the "Throne of Glass" series by Sarah J. Maas
- Sam Carmichael
character in the "Mamma Mia!" musical and films
- Sam
dog detective character from cult franchise "Sam and Max"
- Samson ("Sam")
character in the video game "Stardew Valley"
- Samama "Sam" Khalid
character in podcast "The Magnus Protocol"
- "Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus"
Song by Taylor Swift featured in "The Tortured Poets Department"