Samuel
Feminine · “name of God”
Samuel is given to boys far more often — 820,196 boys against 2,889 girls since 1880. See Samuel as a boy name
The Bible explains this name and gets it wrong. Hannah says she called him Samuel because she asked the Lord for him — but asked in Hebrew is sha'al, which is the verb behind Saul, not behind Samuel. The story fits the other king's name, and it has been sitting in the text for three thousand years.
How old is the name Samuel?
Samuel first appears in US birth records in 1890 — 135 years ago. The typical Samuel alive today was born around 1976, making them about 49 years old. About 2,200 people named Samuel are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Samuel most popular?
Samuel peaked in 1891, reaching #1213 nationally. Today it ranks #10917, 9,704 places below that high. See the whole 1891 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From Shemu'el to Samuel
The story of Samuel
Samuel is the hinge of the story: the last of the judges and the man who anoints the first two kings, first Saul and then, when Saul fails, David. He is also the one who argues against having a king at all, warns the people exactly what a monarchy will cost them, and is overruled. The books that carry his name run long after his death, which tells you how much of the tradition was organized around him. The name went into English use with the Reformation, when Protestant families turned to the Hebrew scriptures for names, and it has never really gone away since; it went quiet through much of the last century and came back without any push at all.
Meaningscholars disagree
name of God — or, in the other reading, God has heard
Hebrew Shemu'el is read two ways: shem, name, with el, God, giving the name of God; or a form of shama, to hear, giving God has heard. The narrative in First Samuel attaches a third explanation, from a verb meaning to ask, which does not fit the letters. Two of the three are serious and the third is famous.
How the name formed
- Shemu'el
- Samouel
- Samuel
Related forms: Shmuel · Samuel · Samuel · Samuele · Samu'il · Sawyl
Pronouncing Samuel
SAM-yoo-ul
Three syllables, stress on the first. Spanish and French put the weight at the end, sah-MWEL. Hebrew Shmuel has two syllables and no vowel at all in the first, which English cannot manage.
Nicknames for Samuel
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1890
- Most girls named
- 198363 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1213reached in 1891
- Change vs 2023
- −20.0%8 in 2025, from 10
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Samuel in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Shmuel in Hebrew — same name
- Samuel in Spanish — same name
- Samuel in Portuguese — same name
- Samuele in Italian — same name
- Samu'il in Arabic — transliteration
- Sawyl in Welsh — same name
Samuels among us
people named Samuel are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 200,908 born in 2025 was named Samuel
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Samuel sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Samuel beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Samuel in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Spelled identically in English, Spanish, Portuguese, French and German.
- Three thousand years of continuous documented use.
- Sam is instantly usable, serves either child, and is a full name on its own.
- Two serious readings of the meaning, both of which are short sentences about God.
- It is very widely used and has been for most of the last two decades.
- Sam is shared with Samantha, Samson and Sampson, so it identifies nothing.
- The explanation the Bible itself gives for the name does not fit the name.
- The very few girls given this spelling will be read as boys on every form.
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Samuel
Feminine · #10917 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Samuels are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 2,200 people named Samuel are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Samuel in 2025?
- Samuel ranks #10917 among US girl names in 2025, with 8 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Samuel?
- About 1 in every 200,908 US girls born in 2025 was named Samuel — 8 in all.
- Will my child share the name Samuel with classmates?
- Samuel will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Samuel
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Edythe#10917 · Tessie#10917 · Drusilla#10917 · Eugenie#10917 · Ivah#10917 · Karri#10917 · Claribel#10917 · Myrtle#10917
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Samuel? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Samuel and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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