Samuel

Hebrew

"told by God"

Samuel Origin and Meaning

The name Samuel is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "told by God".

Samuel has been so popular for so long that it's hard to believe it's still climbing, at its highest point since the 1890s.

This biblical name's popularity is somewhat propelled by the likability of the friendly nickname Sam, which returned to favor along with fellow former Grandpa names like Max and Gus. Sam is now often used on its own, for girls as well as boys.

Samuel is derived from the Hebrew name Shemu’el, meaning "told by God." In the Old Testament, Samuel was 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.

High-profile celebs who have chosen Samuel for their sons include Jennifer Garner and Ben Affleck, Jack Black, and Naomi Watts and Liev Schreiber, and Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys.

Samuel Rank in US Top 1000

# 17 in the US

Samuel Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 73 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Samuel

• 17 US 2024
• 73 Nameberry 2025
• 24 Canada 2024
• 38 Future 2035
• 60 England 2024
• 69 scotland 2024
• 72 Ireland 2024
• 46 Australia 2024
• 77 New Zealand 2024
• 66 France 2024
• 37 Germany 2024
• 64 Netherlands 2024
• 40 Italy 2023
• 41 Spain 2023
• 44 Portugal 2020
• 29 Mexico 2021
• 10 Brazil 2024
• 87 sweden 2024
• 38 Finland 2024
• 71 Belgium 2024
• 27 switzerland 2024
• 23 Austria 2024
• 97 Poland 2020
• 43 Chile 2021

20 Names Similar to Samuel

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Samuel.

• Benjamin
• Thomas
• Andrew
• William
• Daniel
• Charles
• Jacob
• Nicholas
• David
• Matthew
• Joseph
• Luke
• Patrick
• Adam
• Isaac
• Nathaniel
• Nathan
• Alexander
• Joshua
• Christopher

Famous People Named Samuel

• 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

The name 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

International Variations of the name Samuel

• Samuelito Spanish
• Samuelis Lithuanian
• Samoyla Russian
• Shem Yiddish
• Sawyl Welsh
• Shmuel Hebrew
• Somhairle Irish
• Samvel Russian
• Samu Hungarian
• Samo Czech
• Samuil Russian
• Zamiel German
• Sami Hungarian
• Samko Czech
• Samouel Greek
• Shemuel Yiddish
• Schmuel Yiddish
• Samuli Finnish
• Samaru Japanese
• Samuka Hungarian
• Samuele Italian