Sam

#5,238 for girls in 2025, 24 births · #647 for boys in 2025, 428 births
Given to boys 98.8% of the time

Showing
Show data for
Peak · boys
#30
1882 · 555 births
Debut · boys
1880
457 births
In top 100 · boys
47 yrs
of 146 years
Total births · boys
127,234
since 1880

Sam over time

boys

Rank among boys' names. Click any year to open it.

#1#10#100#1,000rank188019001920194019601980200020201918peak #30, 1882boys
Hover or use arrow keys to read values by year; click or press Enter to open that year.

Gaps mean fewer than 5 babies received the name that year, so the SSA doesn't publish it.

Show data table
Yeargirlsboys
rankbirthsrankbirths
2025#5,23824#647428
2024#6,39418#650425
2023#8,98911#676403
2022#6,46418#658418
2021#6,17419#658412
2020#8,40612#655402
2019#7,71614#614443
2018#8,14613#604453
2017#8,77612#537528
2016#6,90117#579478
2015#8,93112#546523
2014#8,48513#533523
2013#8,13514#552480
2012#16,8695#517510
2011#8,19614#481546
2010#9,23112#471550
2009#8,05815#468582
2008#6,35021#457608
2007#11,6309#451615
2006#7,48216#461586
2005#8,88312#460557
2004#12,7617#435595
2003—#436577
2002—#442561
2001#9,35110#437554
2000#13,1546#460517
1999#12,6886#459498
1998—#457492
1997#13,7245#454484
1996#9,5818#428527
1995—#404569
1994—#411554
1993#7,03812#414561
1992—#400575
1991#10,2717#383591
1990#12,9585#396586
1989#12,3625#414503
1988#10,3866#413479
1987#9,8256#392483
1986#7,7498#441381
1985#6,03111#461348
1984#9,1446#444363
1983#5,82411#434360
1982#8,2247#433373
1981—#424384
1980#5,54412#429364
1979#8,0617#410374
1978#7,6497#377417
1977#9,6525#418357
1976—#388397
1975#5,9849#376421
1974#7,6806#366436
1973#7,4356#351476
1972#7,2926#346497
1971#5,13610#340541
1970#4,24613#320600
1969#5,4568#318583
1968#5,1478#319568
1967#4,05311#299607
1966#3,40014#284678
1965#3,14916#267774
1964#4,6369#248955
1963#4,5399#2361,017
1962#2,53923#2361,070
1961#3,06017#2291,194
1960#3,09516#2281,211
1959#3,43613#2141,298
1958#3,37913#2251,177
1957#3,93010#2321,069
1956#3,69611#238951
1955#3,57111#238874
1954#3,01914#238873
1953#3,26912#229880
1952#3,55210#215940
1951#2,69415#2011,034
1950#3,42310#207956
1949#3,8928#1881,104
1948#3,35010#1761,238
1947#4,0078#1691,416
1946#3,6658#1641,304
1945#3,6767#1611,137
1944#2,94610#1571,212
1943#2,35215#1531,322
1942#2,11717#1521,280
1941#2,53212#1501,191
1940#2,73710#1501,147
1939#2,9229#1451,121
1938#2,11315#1411,162
1937#2,31713#1321,213
1936#1,74119#1311,236
1935#2,73110#1261,364
1934#3,4497#1271,321
1933#1,83518#1211,351
1932#1,87718#1191,454
1931#1,75020#1181,460
1930#2,02317#1101,668
1929#1,39330#1041,730
1928#1,36632#1091,759
1927#1,77123#1021,904
1926#1,83022#922,033
1925#1,70025#912,092
1924#1,53330#912,123
1923#1,73624#892,204
1922#1,57528#842,349
1921#1,66826#852,367
1920#1,75123#842,283
1919#1,27036#752,384
1918#1,69023#752,506
1917#2,31614#722,454
1916#1,58123#742,313
1915#1,36727#682,339
1914#1,54118#671,880
1913#1,15123#651,527
1912#1,54013#631,325
1911#2,1916#47928
1910#1,26713#39888
1909#1,6078#44700
1908#2,1015#46644
1907#1,5128#43631
1906#1,7276#43552
1905#1,4208#39620
1904#1,8775#40603
1903—#41552
1902#1,4387#41559
1901#1,3397#40479
1900#1,17111#34821
1899—#44469
1898—#42543
1897#1,5555#45478
1896—#43518
1895#1,5925#43487
1894#1,1368#43507
1893#1,1757#43481
1892—#38551
1891—#43418
1890#1,0997#41489
1889#1,1476#40486
1888#1,2765#34607
1887—#38463
1886—#34519
1885—#35492
1884—#33533
1883—#33476
1882—#30555
1881—#31481
1880—#36457
First appearance
1880

In the first year the SSA published name data, Sam was already there! It came in at #36, and was given to 457 baby boys.

Quietest stretch: 1972–1989, when fewer than 510 boys a year got the name.

See more about Sam
Momentum · boys
Holding steady
  • 3 spots since 2024 (#650 → #647)
  • 8 spots since 2020 (#655 → #647)
  • 101 spots since 2015 (#546 → #647)
  • Biggest jump: 49 spots in 1987 (#441 → #392)
  • Biggest drop: 67 spots in 2018 (#537 → #604)
Rise & fade · boys
2 yrs to peak
  • Debuted 1880
  • Peaked 1882 at #30 (555 births)
  • Not yet halved from its peak
Top of the charts · boys
Top 100 for 47 yrs
  • Top 10: never
  • Top 100: 47 yrs · run 1880–1926
  • Top 1,000: 146 yrs · run 1880–2025
Share of babies · boys
1 in 183
  • Highest: 1 in 183 boys born in 1900 were named Sam (0.55%)
  • Latest: 1 in 3,991 boys born in 2025 (0.03%)
  • Its best rank, #30 in 1882, was only 1 in 205 (0.49%) — a smaller share of a much bigger birth year
Era · boys
The 1920s
  • 16.4% of all boys named Sam (20,844) were born in this decade
Show by decade
DecadeBirthsBest rankAvg rank
1880s5,069#30 (1882)#34
1890s4,941#38 (1892)#43
1900s6,161#34 (1900)#41
1910s18,544#39 (1910)#65
1920s20,844#84 (1922)#93
1930s13,350#110 (1930)#127
1940s12,351#150 (1941)#162
1950s10,052#201 (1951)#224
1960s8,657#228 (1960)#266
1970s4,516#320 (1970)#369
1980s4,038#392 (1987)#429
1990s5,437#383 (1991)#421
2000s5,752#435 (2004)#451
2010s5,034#471 (2010)#543
2020s2,488#647 (2025)#657

All figures count published births only (names given to at least 5 boys in a year). Registrations before 1937 are incomplete, so early shares and totals run low.

Sam in 1918

girls
#1,690
23 births · 1 in 50,332 girls
boys
#75
2,506 births · 1 in 404 boys

Top girls' names in 1918

  1. #1Mary67,365
  2. #2Helen36,148
  3. #3Dorothy32,030
  4. #4Margaret27,139
  5. #5Ruth25,535
  6. #6Mildred17,258
  7. #7Virginia16,421
  8. #8Frances16,132
  9. #9Elizabeth15,853
  10. #10Anna15,666
  11. #1,690Sam23

Top boys' names in 1918

  1. #1John56,558
  2. #2William45,291
  3. #3James42,115
  4. #4Robert40,619
  5. #5Charles26,921
  6. #6George26,318
  7. #7Joseph26,261
  8. #8Edward19,489
  9. #9Frank17,018
  10. #10Thomas13,910
  11. #75Sam2,506
More about 1918

girls

1,157,631 girls got a published name in 1918; 1 in 50,332 of them was named Sam, which outranked 69.7% of the 5,585 girls' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 23.3% of girls (24.6% in 1880, 7.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Sam
  1. #1,645Virgina24
  2. #1,645Waunita24
  3. #1,645Zilpha24
  4. #1,690Sam23
  5. #1,690Aggie23
  6. #1,690Albena23
  7. #1,690Aldora23
  8. #1,754Allen22
  9. #1,754Arlee22
  10. #1,754Arrie22

Tied with 63 names at #1,690; 3 shown. Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 1917
Risers
  1. ↑ 547Jesse#1,507 → #960
  2. ↑ 494Liberty#1,079 → #585
  3. ↑ 389Marilynn#1,337 → #948
  4. ↑ 312Margueritte#1,281 → #969
  5. ↑ 306Syble#807 → #501
Fallers
  1. ↓ 447Valentine#964 → #1,411
  2. ↓ 428Ottie#952 → #1,380
  3. ↓ 354Delora#923 → #1,277
  4. ↓ 318Georgene#896 → #1,214
  5. ↓ 299Clifford#904 → #1,203

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

boys

1,013,480 boys got a published name in 1918; 1 in 404 of them was named Sam, which outranked 98.4% of the 4,813 boys' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 31.0% of boys (44.2% in 1880, 8.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Sam
  1. #72Gerald2,712
  2. #73Vincent2,621
  3. #74Lewis2,593
  4. #75Sam2,506
  5. #76Milton2,454
  6. #77Leon2,442
  7. #78Jesse2,433
Biggest movers since 1917
Risers
  1. ↑ 600Quinton#1,092 → #492
  2. ↑ 542Pershing#876 → #334
  3. ↑ 480Quentin#723 → #243
  4. ↑ 440Issac#1,264 → #824
  5. ↑ 339Furman#1,092 → #753
Fallers
  1. ↓ 473Bernhard#900 → #1,373
  2. ↓ 424Edson#919 → #1,343
  3. ↓ 394Gasper#919 → #1,313
  4. ↓ 352Berton#934 → #1,286
  5. ↓ 346Ishmael#997 → #1,343

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

See the top 100 for 1918 →