boys' name ★ peaked 1947

Sammy

Meaning A diminutive of the male given name Samuel Gender Boy · 4% girls Rank 2025 #1,864 Trend → Stable

A diminutive of the male given name Samuel.

Rank 2025
#1,864
among boys · ↓317 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
110
named Sammy · -17% vs 2024
How common
1 in 20,095
boys born in 2025
Peak year
1947
1,239 babies
All-time total
45,140
#550 all-time among boys
First recorded
1896
in Social Security records

Sammy popularity over time

45,140 babies have been named Sammy since 1896, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.250.50.75118801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – – – – – –
1890s – 5 5 1 – #1,243
1900s – 78 78 8 +1460% #678
1910s 79 480 559 56 +617% #617
1920s 165 1,842 2,007 201 +259% #319
1930s 232 4,173 4,405 441 +119% #232
1940s 246 9,360 9,606 961 +118% #170
1950s 151 8,105 8,256 826 -14% #214
1960s 128 6,602 6,730 673 -18% #272
1970s 89 3,888 3,977 398 -41% #358
1980s 144 2,621 2,765 277 -30% #452
1990s 99 2,235 2,334 233 -16% #586
2000s 118 2,045 2,163 216 -7% #746
2010s 178 1,310 1,488 149 -31% #1,146
2020s (to 2025) 129 638 767 128 -14% #1,478

Where Sammy is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 84 0.05 outside top 500
2027 83 0.05 outside top 500
2028 82 0.05 outside top 500
2029 81 0.05 outside top 500
2030 81 0.05 outside top 500

Where Sammy is most popular

Boys named Sammy per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.062 per 1,000. Strongest in Missouri, New York, and New Jersey.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Sammy born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Missouri 32 0.231 +273%
New York 44 0.102 +64%
New Jersey 17 0.084 +37%
Texas 73 0.083 +34%
Ohio 19 0.072 +16%
California 63 0.069 +11%
Florida 32 0.068 +9%
Tennessee 10 0.055 -10%
South Carolina 5 0.048 -22%
Georgia 11 0.043 -30%
Illinois 5 0.020 -68%
Pennsylvania 5 0.019 -70%
Alaska – – –
Alabama – – –
Arkansas – – –
Arizona – – –
Colorado – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Indiana – – –
Kansas – – –
Kentucky – – –
Louisiana – – –
Massachusetts – – –
Maryland – – –
Maine – – –
Michigan – – –
Minnesota – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Carolina – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Oklahoma – – –
Oregon – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Dakota – – –
Utah – – –
Virginia – – –
Vermont – – –
Washington – – –
Wisconsin – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Sammy

Sammy is rare for boys in the United States, ranked #1,864 in 2025 with 85 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1896, 45,140 American babies have been named Sammy. Its peak came in 1947, when 1,239 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1940s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Sammy stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Sammy?

The median living Sammy is about 60 years old; half are between 39 and 72. An estimated 30 thousand people named Sammy are alive in the United States today.

median 60 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Sammy year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 25 #5,208 85 #1,864
2024 19 #6,360 114 #1,547
2023 28 #4,850 98 #1,717
2022 23 #5,606 115 #1,558
2021 19 #6,378 122 #1,478
2020 15 #7,509 104 #1,574
2019 30 #4,636 104 #1,603
2018 17 #7,055 117 #1,487
2017 14 #8,219 140 #1,299
2016 21 #6,158 129 #1,380
2015 18 #6,935 126 #1,379
2014 21 #6,175 143 #1,254
2013 18 #6,979 119 #1,412
2012 13 #9,032 120 #1,395
2011 13 #9,054 158 #1,146
2010 13 #9,138 154 #1,178
2009 15 #8,386 158 #1,155
2008 13 #9,391 205 #975
2007 5 #19,988 184 #1,027
2006 9 #12,241 198 #947
2005 18 #6,767 214 #862
2004 13 #8,631 217 #823
2003 10 #10,289 217 #803
2002 12 #8,733 200 #835
2001 10 #9,959 234 #746
2000 13 #7,952 218 #763
1995 11 #7,966 179 #802
1990 5 #14,752 294 #586
1985 10 #6,837 243 #567
1980 5 #11,749 343 #452
1975 9 #6,346 352 #411
1970 8 #6,245 474 #373
1965 15 #3,380 619 #303
1960 15 #3,328 865 #272
1955 19 #2,623 750 #251
1950 17 #2,517 886 #214
1945 24 #1,735 949 #174
1940 18 #1,950 577 #217
1935 24 #1,538 436 #258
1930 25 #1,602 346 #305
1925 13 #2,754 157 #487
1920 13 #2,708 113 #589
1915 7 #3,739 50 #877
1910 – – 23 #617
1905 – – 5 #1,396
1900 – – 7 #1,148
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Sammy

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Sammy Davis Jr. Sammy Davis Jr. American singer and actor (1925–1990) Contemporary
  2. 2 Sammy Hagar Sammy Hagar American rock musician (born 1947) Contemporary
  3. 3 Sammy Sosa Sammy Sosa Dominican baseball player (born 1968) Contemporary
  4. 4 Sammy Cahn Sammy Cahn American lyricist, songwriter, musician (1913–1993) Contemporary
  5. 5 Sammy Lee Sammy Lee English footballer (born 1959) Contemporary
  6. 6 Sammy Ameobi Sammy Ameobi Association football player (born 1992) Contemporary
  7. 7 Sammy Nelson Northern Irish footballer b. 1949 · Contemporary
  8. 8 Sammy Lee Sammy Lee American diver (1920–2016) Contemporary
  9. 9 Sammy Adjei Ghanaian footballer (born 1980) Contemporary
  10. 10 Sammy Traoré Sammy Traoré French and Malian footballer and manager (born 1976) Contemporary
  11. 11 Sammy Bossut Sammy Bossut Belgian association football player b. 1985 · Contemporary
  12. 12 Sammy Ndjock Sammy Ndjock Cameroonian footballer b. 1990 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Sammy, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Sammy?

The median living Sammy is about 60 years old. Half of all living Sammys are between 39 and 72 years old.

How many people named Sammy are alive today?

An estimated 30 thousand people named Sammy are alive in the United States, based on 45,140 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Sammy mean?

A diminutive of the male given name Samuel.

How popular is the name Sammy in 2025?

Sammy ranked #1,864 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 85 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Sammy?

45,140 babies have been named Sammy in the United States since 1896, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Sammy most popular?

Sammy peaked in 1947, when 1,239 newborns received the name.

Is Sammy a boy or girl name?

Sammy is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 96% of babies with the name.

Is the name Sammy rising or falling?

Sammy is declining, less popular now than a decade ago.

Will Sammy become more popular?

Sammy looks stable. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 81 boys named Sammy in 2030, ranking outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Sammy?

Well-known people named Sammy include Sammy Davis Jr. (singer), Sammy Hagar (musician), Sammy Sosa (baseball player).

Names like Sammy

Names that sound and feel close to Sammy: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Sammy with similar names → More names starting with S →