Samuel
Nationally, Samuel lands at #18 for 2025, holding steady. Its record runs from 1880 through a 2001 peak, 820,196 children in all.
What Samuel carries
Samuel · Hebrew
“asked of God”
Source: Charlotte M. Yonge, History of Christian Names (1884), see our sources.
Samuel’s free Name Kit
Five printables for Samuel, drawn in your browser at print size the moment you ask: a name print for the wall, a nursery sign, a tracing sheet, a shortlist sheet, and twelve sibling names with the reason for each. Letter size, 300 dpi, in the site’s own hand.
- Name print Meaning, origin and the popularity curve on one sheet, ready for a frame.
- Nursery sign The name big and bright, for a door, a shelf or the top of a dresser.
- Tracing sheet The name in dotted letters, with room to go over it again and again.
- Shortlist sheet A page for weighing names side by side: initials, nicknames, how it sounds with yours.
- Sibling names sheet Twelve names that go with this one, each with the reason, from the sibling matcher.
Name print
Meaning, origin and the popularity curve on one sheet, ready for a frame.
Nursery sign
The name big and bright, for a door, a shelf or the top of a dresser.
Tracing sheet
The name in dotted letters, with room to go over it again and again.
Shortlist sheet
A page for weighing names side by side: initials, nicknames, how it sounds with yours.
Sibling names sheet
Twelve names that go with this one, each with the reason, from the sibling matcher.
Print on plain letter paper or heavier card; the sign and the print look best on matte stock.
Samuel since 1880
Samuel peaked in 2001 at #26; #18 in 2025.
United States national data, Social Security Administration, through 2025, how we use it.
Where Samuel is most common
Among the states, Samuel takes its largest share in District of Columbia, 1.31% of the boys' names recorded there in 2025, with Alaska and Alabama next.
Share of the state's recorded names for that sex, from the Social Security Administration's state file; a name is listed in a state only when five or more babies received it there that year.
Names that sit near Samuel
Same shelf of the library: origin, era and shape, scored deterministically.
Simon
#230 in 2025 · Hebrew
Gabriel
#37 in 2025 · Hebrew
Jacob
#43 in 2025 · Hebrew
Isaac
#47 in 2025 · Hebrew
Hannah
#56 in 2025 · Hebrew
Isaiah
#57 in 2025 · Hebrew
Caleb
#58 in 2025 · Hebrew
Nathan
#63 in 2025 · Hebrew
Browse: names starting with S · Hebrew names · all names
About Samuel
How common is Samuel today?
Nationally, Samuel lands at #18 for 2025, holding steady. The full curve since 1880 is above, public federal data, redrawn, never estimated.
What is the recorded meaning of Samuel?
“asked of God” is the meaning our source sets down, of Hebrew origin (Charlotte M. Yonge, History of Christian Names (1884)).
What names go with Samuel?
Nearest by the published recipe: Simon, Gabriel and Jacob. The sibling matcher scores every common American name against the ones you already have.
Get Samuel’s free Name Kit
Five printables made in your browser: a name print for the wall, a nursery sign, a tracing sheet, a shortlist sheet and twelve sibling names with the reason for each. Yours in a moment, for one email.
Make the kitThe book is in the works
A printed picture book where Samuel earns every letter of their own name, page by page. See the preview pages and hear when it is ready.
Preview the book