Names That Mean Told

Samuel has been so popular for so long that it's hard to believe it's still climbing, at its highest point since the 1890s.

The origins of Samantha are not entirely clear, although it is commonly thought to be a feminization of Samuel with the suffix derived from the Greek anthos, meaning "flower." Samantha has been in English-speaking use since the eighteenth century, particularly in the American South, and drew attention via Grace Kelly's Tracy Samantha Lord character in High Society, featuring the song "I love you, Samantha."

Sam has long been used on its own for boys, as accepted standing by itself as it is as a short form of Samuel. Straightforward and down-to-earth, Sam is the name of the son of the co-stars of The Americans, Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys. Sam is one of the most popular names that start with S in the Western world, ranking higher in several European countries than it does in the US, where it's trended downward since the 19th century, though it's always been in the Top 1000.

Sam as a name standing on its own was given to only 18 girls in 2021, versus over 400 boys. But as a short form it's appealing and down-to-earth for both sexes, and heard far more often: There were over 2500 baby girls named Samantha in the US in one recent year and more than 8500 boys named Samuel, so you will hear the name Sam a lot more often than you might guess judging by the numbers for this short form. Like the wildly popular Charlie, Sam is a nickname that works equally well as a girls' name as a boys'. All forms considered, Sam is still one of the most popular names that start with S.

This classic Italian Samuel variation is just as compelling as the original, especially if you have Italian heritage.

A multicultural nickname for Samuel. The Spanish and Finnish variation is pronounced SAH-moo, while the Hungarian version is SHAW-moo.

Sambo went from being a short form of the venerable name Samuel to being a racial slur after the popularity of the children's book Little Black Sambo, first published in 1899 but by the 1930s decried by such esteemed critics as Langston Hughes as being racist. While some measures have been taken to rehabilitate the image of the book, the name Sambo seems terminally tainted.