Samuel

What Samuel means

Means “God has set or God has placed”

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

Source: Wiktionary, “Samuel” (revision 94543237), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Samuel?

US: Rising: up from #23 in 2015. England & Wales: Falling: down from #23 in 2015.

Biggest US share so far: 1880, when 1,024 boys got the name (#17 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 205 baby boys in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 354 baby boys in England and Wales in 2025
• About 1 in 277 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 DC (13.06 per 1,000 boys), AK (11.0 per 1,000 boys), AL (9.25 per 1,000 boys) in 2025.

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

US vs UK

Samuel is #18 in the US and #66 in England & Wales (2025).

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

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.9% of US babies named Samuel 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

• Sammuel23 US
• Samual12 US
• Samiel8 US
• Samiul0 US · 8 E&W
• Samuele0 US · 6 E&W

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

Nicknames

• Sam
• Sammie
• Sammy
• Samuelson

Listed on Wiktionary under “pet forms”.

If you like Samuel

Boys

• Nathaniel#140“God has given”^*
• Jacob#43“May He Heel”^*
• Seth#581“chosen one, appointed, placed”^*
• Nathan#63“gave”^*
• Saul#557Editor’s note Down from #494 in 2015 to #557 in 2025 in the US
• Ruben#480Editor’s note Down from #374 in 2015 to #480 in 2025 in the US

For a sister

• Abby#731Diminutive of Abigail, meaning “my Father's joy”^*
• Anna#107Editor’s note Cooling off in the US: #44 in 2015, #107 in 2025
• Hannah#56“grace, gracious, graced with child”^*
• Mikayla#746Form of Michael, meaning “who is like God?”^*
• Gabriela#317Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 2003, with 3,362 babies; 961 in 2025
• Hanna#511“grace, gracious, graced with child”^*

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