Sam
Featured in baby name books
Sam is a short form of Samuel, from Hebrew, meaning “God has heard” or “name of God,” and can also shorten Samantha. Famous Sams include playwright Sam Shepard, singer Sam Cooke, and Walmart founder Sam Walton.
Sources: 10,000 Baby Names, Baby Names Made Easy, The Everything Baby Names Book, Numerology for Baby Names
Book links are affiliate links; we may earn a commission on purchases.
Usage of Sam in different languages / cultures
The list below was created by gathering names from various sources for different languages, and then matching Sam against each list of names.
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Albanian
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Arabic
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Armenian
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Bengali
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Bulgarian
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Catalan
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Chinese
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Cornish
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Croatian
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Czech
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Danish
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Dothraki
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Dutch
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English
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Estonian
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Filipino
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Finnish
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French
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Georgian
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German
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Greek
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Hawaiian
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Hebrew
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Hindi
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Hungarian
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Icelandic
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Indonesian
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Irish
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Italian
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Japanese
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Khmer
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Klingon
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Korean
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Latin
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Latvian
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Lithuanian
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Macedonian
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Norwegian
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Persian
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Polish
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Portuguese
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Romanian
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Russian
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Scottish
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Serbian
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Slovak
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Slovenian
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Spanish
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Swahili
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Swedish
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Telugu
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Thai
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Turkish
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Ukrainian
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Vietnamese
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Welsh
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Yiddish
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Yoruba
Note: In some cases it is possible for the check mark to be missing even if Sam is used in a particular country, as almost no source name list has 100% coverage.
Sam in official name statistics
United States
In 2025, 428 boys were named Sam, making it the #647 boys' name in the US. Since 1880, 127,234 boys have been named Sam, with the most (2,506) in 1918. It is most common, relative to births, in Montana, Utah and Nevada.
Source: Social Security Administration baby name data, 1880–2025. Names given to fewer than 5 babies in a year are not listed.
Other countries
Counts are babies born that year, or living people for "all ages" rows, as published by each country's statistics office or population register.
Sam in other languages
- Samuel Czech, Dutch, English, Finnish, German, Polish
- Samantha Dutch, English, Italian
- Sēn Chinese
Sam name days
- September 1 Sweden
Source: Wikidata (CC0).
Storms named Sam
Tropical storms, hurricanes, typhoons and cyclones that have been named Sam, newest first.
| Storm | Year | Ocean | Peak wind |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hurricane Sam (Category 4) | 2021 | North Atlantic | 250 km/h |
| Cyclone Sam (Category 3) | 2001 | South Pacific | 204 km/h |
| Typhoon Sam (Category 1) | 1999 | Western Pacific | 139 km/h |
| Cyclone Sam (Category 1) | 1990 | South Indian Ocean | 130 km/h |
| Tropical storm Sam | 1978 | South Indian Ocean | 93 km/h |
Source: IBTrACS, NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Peak wind is the highest sustained wind recorded for the storm.
Towns named Sam
There are 1,209 towns and villages with Sam in their name, in 48 countries.
🇹🇭 Thailand 845🇻🇳 Vietnam 57🇰🇵 North Korea 34🇸🇳 Senegal 33🇱🇦 Laos 27🇲🇲 Myanmar 26🇵🇰 Pakistan 25🇾🇪 Yemen 21
| Name | Where | Population | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sầm Sơn | Thanh Hóa Province, 🇻🇳 Vietnam | 129,801 | Map |
| Sam Phran | Nakhon Pathom, 🇹🇭 Thailand | 37,115 | Map |
| Sam Shing | Tuen Mun, 🇭🇰 Hong Kong | 16,423 | Map |
| Sam | Alibori, 🇧🇯 Benin | 12,006 | Map |
| Sam | Centre-Ouest, 🇧🇫 Burkina Faso | 1,255 | Map |
| Sam Rayburn | Texas, 🇺🇸 United States | 1,181 | Map |
| Pateh Sam | Central River, 🇬🇲 Gambia | 1,164 | Map |
| Sam | Mangystau, 🇰🇿 Kazakhstan | 451 | Map |
| Ya Sam | Ratanakiri, 🇰🇭 Cambodia | 338 | Map |
| Sam Ngaien | Central River, 🇬🇲 Gambia | 270 | Map |
Source: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Maps: OpenStreetMap.
Lakes named Sam
There are 128 lakes and reservoirs with Sam in their name, in 8 countries.
🇹🇭 Thailand 57🇨🇦 Canada 29🇺🇸 United States 21🇰🇷 South Korea 17🇰🇭 Cambodia 1🇱🇦 Laos 1🇵🇰 Pakistan 1🇷🇺 Russia 1
| Name | Where | |
|---|---|---|
| Lac Sam | Quebec, 🇨🇦 Canada | Map |
| Lac Sam | Quebec, 🇨🇦 Canada | Map |
| Lac Sam | Quebec, 🇨🇦 Canada | Map |
| Lac Sam | Quebec, 🇨🇦 Canada | Map |
| Lac Sam | Quebec, 🇨🇦 Canada | Map |
| Lac Sam | Quebec, 🇨🇦 Canada | Map |
| Lac Sam | Quebec, 🇨🇦 Canada | Map |
| Lac Sam | Quebec, 🇨🇦 Canada | Map |
| Lac Sam | Quebec, 🇨🇦 Canada | Map |
| Lac Sam | Quebec, 🇨🇦 Canada | Map |
Source: GeoNames (CC BY 4.0). Maps: OpenStreetMap.
Sam songs
2 songs and musical works on Wikidata have Sam in their title. The best known:
Song data: Wikidata (CC0), ordered by how widely each song is covered on Wikipedia.
Celebrities named Sam
Based on celebrities listed on Wikipedia, filtered to only those with the first name Sam.
Sam Baldock
Sam Beddingfield
Sam Bewley
Sam Bird
See more...
Fictional characters named Sam
Characters from films and TV series, from Wikidata, ordered by how widely they are covered on Wikipedia.
Character data: Wikidata (CC0). Images: Wikimedia Commons; click an image for its author and licence.
Sam as a pet name
FurryName has found 1,756 dogs named Sam in public pet registers, making it the #48 dog name there. Most of them are registered in Noosa (55), Corangamite Shire (17), Adelaide (8). Sam as a dog name →
FurryName has found 966 cats named Sam in public pet registers, making it the #33 cat name there. Most of them are registered in Richmond (7), Tacoma (7), Surf Coast Shire (6). Sam as a cat name →
Sam products
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Sam name mug
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Sam tumbler
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Sam cap
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Sam t-shirt
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Sam necklace
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Sam bracelet
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Sam keychain
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Sam ornament
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Sam baby blanket
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Sam name puzzle
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Sam wall sign
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Sam pillow
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