Sambo

Sambo went from being a short form of the venerable name Samuel to being a racial slur after the popularity of the children's book Little Black Sambo, first published in 1899 but by the 1930s decried by such esteemed critics as Langston Hughes as being racist. While some measures have been taken to rehabilitate the image of the book, the name Sambo seems terminally tainted.

Sambo is also given to boys.

Pronounced SAM-boh.

As of October 2026, Sambo ranked #6586 for boys in US births in 1986 SSA, peaked at #3617 for boys in 1934.