Sami

What Sami means

Means “high, exalted”

Derived from Arabic سَامِي (sāmī), from the informal pronunciation of سَامٍ (sāmin, “high, exalted”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Sami” (revision 93609066), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Sami?

US: Steady: #1132 in 2015, #1112 now. England & Wales: Rising: up from #322 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 2025, when 193 boys got the name (#1112 that year). First in the US records in 1955.

How common

• About 1 in 8,850 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 1,619 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 2,806 baby boys in Scotland in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in VA (0.46 per 1,000 boys), MI (0.35 per 1,000 boys), IL (0.3 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed boys born in each state.

US vs UK

Sami is #1112 in the US and #271 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (boys). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 87.7% of US babies named Sami were boys.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Sammy85 US · 28 E&W
• Samay43 US · 9 E&W
• Samy30 US · 5 E&W
• Soma8 US
• Samai7 US
• Sama6 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

Spelling variants on Wiktionary

• Saami

Listed as alternative forms on Wiktionary.

If you like Sami

Boys

• Yahya#615Editor’s note More popular in England & Wales than the US: #81 vs #615 in 2025
• Ibrahim#351Editor’s note Up from #436 in 2015 to #351 in 2025 in the US
• Laith#893Editor’s note More popular in England & Wales than the US: #254 vs #893 in 2025
• Zahir#738Editor’s note First shows up in US records in 1973, with 7 babies
• Yusuf#449Same root as Joseph, meaning “(God) shall add”^*
• Yousef#744Editor’s note Up from #788 in 2015 to #744 in 2025 in the US

For a sister

• Noor#659“light”^*
• Amirah#490Variant of Amira, meaning “princess”^*
• Leyla#611Editor’s note Up from #782 in 2015 to #611 in 2025 in the US
• Amira#132“princess”^*
• Maryam#351Editor’s note More popular in England & Wales than the US: #52 vs #351 in 2025
• Zahra#538Editor’s note First shows up in US records in 1973, with 8 babies

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under Arabic, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Sami’s. Rank is US 2025.