boys' name ★ peaked 2001

Samuel

Meaning God has set Gender Boy Rank 2025 #18 Trend → Stable

From Latin Samuēl, from Ancient Greek Σαμουήλ (Samouḗl), from Biblical Hebrew שְׁמוּאֵל (šəmûʾēl, literally “'God has set' or 'God has placed'”).

Rank 2025
#18
among boys · ↓1 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
8,342
named Samuel
How common
1 in 205
boys born in 2025
Peak year
2001
14,845 babies
All-time total
823,085
#39 all-time among boys
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Samuel popularity over time

823,085 babies have been named Samuel since 1880, 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
2.557.51018801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
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 – 9,129 9,129 913 – #17
1890s 16 7,857 7,873 787 -14% #20
1900s 24 8,149 8,173 817 +4% #30
1910s 98 34,166 34,264 3,426 +319% #30
1920s 237 43,362 43,599 4,360 +27% #43
1930s 190 32,135 32,325 3,233 -26% #55
1940s 193 43,129 43,322 4,332 +34% #59
1950s 218 53,767 53,985 5,399 +25% #62
1960s 265 44,247 44,512 4,451 -18% #64
1970s 363 48,099 48,462 4,846 +9% #55
1980s 519 73,456 73,975 7,398 +53% #45
1990s 309 125,597 125,906 12,591 +70% #27
2000s 262 138,647 138,909 13,891 +10% #21
2010s 142 108,128 108,270 10,827 -22% #21
2020s (to 2025) 53 50,328 50,381 8,397 -22% #17

Where Samuel 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 8,227 4.82 #19
2027 8,137 4.76 #20
2028 8,061 4.72 #23
2029 7,998 4.68 #24
2030 7,944 4.65 #24

Where Samuel is most popular

Boys named Samuel per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 4.83 per 1,000. Strongest in District of Columbia, Alaska, and Wyoming.

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 Samuel 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
District of Columbia 157 10.6 +120%
Alaska 107 8.98 +86%
Wyoming 51 8.82 +82%
Vermont 55 8.76 +81%
Alabama 865 7.91 +64%
Montana 134 7.60 +57%
Massachusetts 1,019 7.41 +53%
Idaho 301 7.35 +52%
Maine 142 7.32 +51%
Arkansas 463 7.32 +51%
South Carolina 736 7.12 +47%
Kentucky 711 7.08 +47%
Rhode Island 114 6.99 +45%
New Mexico 230 6.98 +44%
Tennessee 1,240 6.87 +42%
Hawaii 106 6.83 +41%
New Hampshire 150 6.76 +40%
Washington 1,102 6.74 +39%
Oregon 505 6.65 +38%
Utah 622 6.52 +35%
Mississippi 368 6.48 +34%
West Virginia 210 6.43 +33%
Oklahoma 568 6.42 +33%
Kansas 437 6.37 +32%
Connecticut 429 6.34 +31%
North Dakota 105 6.15 +27%
Missouri 848 6.12 +27%
North Carolina 1,553 6.08 +26%
Nebraska 260 5.98 +24%
Indiana 941 5.87 +21%
Virginia 1,103 5.81 +20%
South Dakota 108 5.80 +20%
Delaware 87 5.74 +19%
Pennsylvania 1,520 5.72 +18%
Georgia 1,440 5.68 +18%
Maryland 673 5.64 +17%
Ohio 1,459 5.51 +14%
Florida 2,600 5.49 +14%
Texas 4,790 5.44 +13%
Colorado 693 5.37 +11%
Iowa 366 5.31 +10%
New York 2,253 5.20 +8%
Arizona 836 5.11 +6%
New Jersey 1,009 5.01 ≈ national
Nevada 280 4.91 ≈ national
Louisiana 502 4.91 ≈ national
Wisconsin 572 4.83 ≈ national
Michigan 962 4.70 ≈ national
California 4,240 4.64 ≈ national
Minnesota 567 4.62 ≈ national
Illinois 1,128 4.41 -9%

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 Samuel

Samuel is a top-50 name for boys in the United States, ranked #18 in 2025 with 8,334 babies given the name. It is currently declining compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 823,085 American babies have been named Samuel. Its peak came in 2001, when 14,845 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2000s.

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 Samuel stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Samuel?

The median living Samuel is about 27 years old; half are between 16 and 44. An estimated 637 thousand people named Samuel are alive in the United States today.

median 27 020406080100

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

Samuel 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 8 #11,753 8,334 #18
2024 7 #13,235 8,355 #17
2023 10 #10,196 8,038 #19
2022 8 #12,067 8,427 #19
2021 6 #14,967 8,580 #23
2020 14 #7,897 8,594 #25
2019 10 #10,346 9,322 #22
2018 12 #9,061 9,854 #21
2017 16 #7,381 10,449 #21
2016 16 #7,546 10,621 #21
2015 12 #9,394 10,905 #23
2014 14 #8,419 11,029 #23
2013 14 #8,505 11,141 #25
2012 14 #8,556 11,470 #25
2011 6 #16,423 11,366 #26
2010 28 #5,082 11,971 #24
2009 20 #6,772 12,181 #24
2008 24 #5,924 12,774 #27
2007 16 #8,026 13,367 #25
2006 19 #6,791 13,652 #25
2005 26 #5,086 14,271 #21
2004 54 #2,957 14,131 #23
2003 25 #5,064 14,691 #23
2002 19 #6,080 14,579 #25
2001 32 #4,013 14,813 #26
2000 27 #4,506 14,188 #28
1995 29 #3,756 12,440 #33
1990 34 #3,279 10,894 #45
1985 64 #1,781 7,009 #54
1980 36 #2,640 6,014 #54
1975 37 #2,270 4,619 #61
1970 26 #2,766 4,558 #62
1965 26 #2,395 4,395 #84
1960 27 #2,290 4,711 #91
1955 23 #2,326 5,535 #71
1950 18 #2,418 5,227 #62
1945 16 #2,221 3,957 #62
1940 20 #1,837 3,364 #65
1935 17 #1,991 3,149 #62
1930 19 #1,926 3,531 #55
1925 25 #1,739 4,405 #46
1920 17 #2,248 4,654 #44
1915 10 #2,868 4,351 #39
1910 – – 1,129 #32
1905 7 #1,672 856 #30
1900 6 #1,900 877 #33
1895 – – 814 #25
1890 5 #1,506 815 #20
1885 – – 888 #18
1880 – – 1,024 #17

Famous people named Samuel

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

  1. 1 Samuel L. Jackson Samuel L. Jackson American actor (born 1948) Contemporary
  2. 2 Samuel Eto'o Samuel Eto'o Cameroonian footballer (born 1981) Contemporary
  3. 3 Samuel Beckett Samuel Beckett Irish writer (1906–1989) Contemporary
  4. 4 Samuel Adams Samuel Adams Founding Father of the United States (1722–1803) 18th century
  5. 5 Samuel Johnson Samuel Johnson English writer and lexicographer (1709–1784) 18th century
  6. 6 Samuel Samuel Biblical prophet and seer -1100–-1010 · Antiquity
  7. 7 Samuel Taylor Coleridge Samuel Taylor Coleridge English poet, literary critic and philosopher (1773–1834) 1772–1834 · 18th century
  8. 8 Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys English writer and politician (1633–1703) 17th century
  9. 9 Samuel Morse Samuel Morse American inventor and painter (1791–1872) 18th century
  10. 10 Samuel de Champlain Samuel de Champlain French explorer of North America (1574–1635) 1567–1635 · 16th century
  11. 11 Samuel Barber Samuel Barber American composer (1910–1981) Contemporary
  12. 12 Samuel R. Delany Samuel R. Delany American author, critic, and academic (born 1942) Contemporary
  13. 13 Samuel Colt Samuel Colt American industrialist and inventor (1814–1862) 19th century
  14. 14 Samuel P. Huntington Samuel P. Huntington American political scientist (1927–2008) Contemporary
  15. 15 Samuel Hahnemann Samuel Hahnemann German physician who created homeopathy (1755–1843) 18th century
  16. 16 Samuel Butler Samuel Butler English novelist and critic (1835–1902) 19th century
  17. 17 Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers Samuel Liddell MacGregor Mathers British occultist (1854–1918) 19th century
  18. 18 Samuel of Bulgaria Samuel of Bulgaria Tsar of Bulgaria from 997 to 1014 958–1014 · Medieval
  19. 19 Samuel Richardson Samuel Richardson English writer and printer (1689–1761) 17th century
  20. 20 Samuel Reshevsky Samuel Reshevsky Polish-American chess grandmaster (1911–1992) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Samuel?

The median living Samuel is about 27 years old. Half of all living Samuels are between 16 and 44 years old.

How many people named Samuel are alive today?

An estimated 637 thousand people named Samuel are alive in the United States, based on 823,085 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Samuel mean?

From Latin Samuēl, from Ancient Greek Σαμουήλ (Samouḗl), from Biblical Hebrew שְׁמוּאֵל (šəmûʾēl, literally “'God has set' or 'God has placed'”).

How popular is the name Samuel in 2025?

Samuel ranked #18 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 8,334 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Samuel?

823,085 babies have been named Samuel in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Samuel most popular?

Samuel peaked in 2001, when 14,845 newborns received the name.

Is Samuel a boy or girl name?

Samuel is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Samuel rising or falling?

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

Will Samuel become more popular?

Samuel looks stable. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 7,944 boys named Samuel in 2030, ranking around #24. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Samuel?

Well-known people named Samuel include Samuel L. Jackson (actor), Samuel Eto'o (soccer player), Samuel Beckett (writer).

Names like Samuel

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

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