Sam
2025 SSA
2025 SSA
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.
Sam for girls#5370 US
Sam as a name standing on its own was given to only 18 girls in 2021, versus over 400 boys. But as a short form it's appealing and down-to-earth for both sexes, and heard far more often: There were over 2500 baby girls named Samantha in the US in one recent year and more than 8500 boys named Samuel, so you will hear the name Sam a lot more often than you might guess judging by the numbers for this short form. Like the wildly popular Charlie, Sam is a nickname that works equally well as a girls' name as a boys'. All forms considered, Sam is still one of the most popular names that start with S.
Pronounced SAM.
As of October 2026, Sam ranked #647 in US births in 2025 SSA, peaked at #30 in 1882, Nameberry popularity #464.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank · boys | Births · boys | US rank · girls | Births · girls |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #534 | 523 | — | 0 |
| 2015 | #547 | 523 | — | 0 |
| 2016 | #580 | 478 | — | 0 |
| 2017 | #538 | 527 | — | 0 |
| 2018 | #604 | 453 | — | 0 |
| 2019 | #618 | 442 | — | 0 |
| 2020 | #655 | 402 | — | 0 |
| 2021 | #659 | 412 | — | 0 |
| 2022 | #658 | 418 | — | 0 |
| 2023 | #675 | 403 | — | 0 |
| 2024 | #651 | 423 | — | 0 |
| 2025 | #647 | 428 | — | 0 |
World rankings
Similar names
These 40 names were selected by our users looking for other names like Sam.
Similar boy names
Similar girl names
Sam on lists
Famous Sams
- Sam Shepard (nee Samuel Shepard Rogers III)Boy
American playwright and actor
- Sam WillsBoy
prop comic
- Samuel Atkinson "Sam" WaterstonBoy
American actor
- Nigel John Dermot "Sam" NeillBoy
New Zealand actor
- Samuel Jacob "Sam" BradfordBoy
American football player
- Sam PageBoy
(born Samuel L. Elliott), American actor
- Sam Newton Battenberg FaulknerBoy
English singer,songwriter
- Samuel George "Sam" ClaflinBoy
English actor
- Sam RockwellBoy
American actor
- Sam Lowry HuntBoy
American singer,songwriter
- Sam FoxBoy
son of Michael J. Fox
- Sam Evans (b. 2016)Boy
son of Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys
- Sam GriffithsBoy
Australian horse rider
- Sam Brody JennerBoy
American television personality
- Sam H. HarrisBoy
American producer and theater owner
- Sam "SG" LewisBoy
British DJ and producer
- Samantha "Sam" BrownGirl
English pop singer
- Samantha Elizabeth "Sam" FaiersGirl
English reality TV personality
- Samantha Ann "Sam" QuekGirl
English Olympic hockey player
- Samantha Karen "Sam" FoxGirl
English pop singer
- Samantha Jane "Sam" StosurGirl
Australian tennis player
- Samantha June "Sam" MewisGirl
American soccer player
- Samantha May "Sam" KerrGirl
Australian soccer player
- Samantha "Sam" Mozes (b. 1996)Girl
daughter of actress Cynthia Nixon and Danny Mozes
- Sam J Sheen (b. 2004)Girl
daughter of actors Charlie Sheen and Denise Richards
- Sam Alexis Woods (b. 2007)Girl
daughter of golfer Tiger Woods
- Samantha Rae "Sam" Simpson (b. 2013)Girl
daughter of pair skater Jamie Salé and ice hockey player Craig Simpson
- Samantha Faith "Sam" Rogers (b. 2016)Girl
daughter of singer and TV personality Matt Rogers
- Samantha “Sam” RybkaGirl
Australian acrobat, dancer, and YouTuber
Sam in pop culture
- Sam HarmonBoy
character in "Ocean's" series
- Samwell "Sam" TarleyBoy
character on HBO's "Game of Thrones"
- Sam MaloneBoy
main character on NBC's "Cheers"
- Samuel "Sam" WinchesterBoy
main character on The CW's "Supernatural"
- Sam WilsonBoy
aka Falcon, Marvel Comics character
- Samwise "Sam" GamgeeBoy
hobbit from "The Lord of the Rings"
- Sam WhitwickeyBoy
main character in "Transformers" movies
- Sam EvansBoy
character on Fox's "Glee"
- Sam HealyBoy
character on Netflix's "Orange Is the New Black"
- Sam CamdenBoy
one of the twins on The CW's "7th Heaven"
- Sam ConroyBoy
character in the movie "American Violet"
- Sam CoyoteBoy
character on CBS' "Walker, Texas Ranger"
- Sam RothBoy
character in Maggie Stiefvator's series "Wolves of Mercy Falls"
- Sam TempleBoy
protagonist from "Gone" series
- Sam BraddockBoy
character on CTV's "Flashpoint"
- Samuel "Sam" AlexanderBoy
aka Nova, Marvel superhero
- Sam RadleyBoy
character in the "Hardy Boys" series
- Sam HannaBoy
Special Agent on CBS' "NCIS: Los Angeles"
- Sam BellBoy
character in "Moon"
- Sam the Onion ManBoy
character from the book and film "Holes"
- Sam SekemotoBoy
character in "The Sims 3" computer game
- Sam AndersonBoy
character on AMC's "The Walking Dead"
- SamBoy
character on ABC's "Private Practice"
- SamBoy
character in the movie Lost Boys
- Sam LaneBoy
character on The CW's "Supergirl"
- Samuel Joseph "Sam" Scudder aka Mirror MasterBoy
character on The CW's "The Flash"
- Big SamBoy
character in "Gone with the Wind"
- Sam (SamBoy
I,Am), character from "Green Eggs and Ham" by Dr. Seuss
- Uncle SamBoy
a character used to help the United States to recruit men into the military
- Sam QuintanaBoy
character in the young adult book "Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe," by Benjamin Alire Sáenz.
- Sam ScottBoy
character on Channel 4's "extr@"
- Sam CortlandBoy
character in the "Throne of Glass" series by Sarah J. Maas
- Sam CarmichaelBoy
character in the "Mamma Mia!" musical and films
- SamBoy
dog detective character from cult franchise "Sam and Max"
- Samson ("Sam")Boy
character in the video game "Stardew Valley"
- Samama "Sam" KhalidBoy
character in podcast "The Magnus Protocol"
- "Chloe or Sam or Sophia or Marcus"Both
Song by Taylor Swift featured in "The Tortured Poets Department"
- Samantha "Sam" CarterGirl
character on TV show "Stargate SG,1"
- Samantha "Sam" PuckettGirl
character on TV's "iCarly" and "Sam & Cat"
- Samantha "Sam" MansonGirl
character in animated series "Danny Phantom"
- Dr. Sam NichollsGirl
character on British TV show "Casualty"
- SamGirl
character in book/film "Perks of Being a Wallflower"
- SamGirl
character in the movie "The Space Between"
- Samantha "Sam" StevensGirl
character on TV's 'Bewitched'
- Samantha "Sam" MontgomeryGirl
character in movie "A Cinderella Story"
- Samirah "Sam" Al AbbasGirl
character in the Magnus Chase series by Rick Riordan
- Samantha "Sam" WhiteGirl
character from the Netflix series "Dear White People"
- Sam StantonGirl
main character in movie "Switching Goals"
- Samantha "Sam" GiddingsGirl
character in video game "Until Dawn"