Samuel

Primarily a boy's name · 100% boys

Meaning

Samuel is a male name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "name of God", deriving from the Hebrew Shem + ʾĒl.

From Wikipedia

Samuel first appears in the data in 1972 and has been recorded in 53 different years as a boy's name. Its single biggest year was 2016 with 2,250 babies (rank #11 that year). In 2025 it was given to 408 boys (rank #42). The name has been declining over the last five years.

Numerology of Samuel

In Pythagorean numerology, every letter has a value from 1 to 9. Adding the letters of Samuel yields these three numbers — a playful read on the name's character.

8Destiny numberThe achieverDriven, capable, comfortable wielding influence.Sum of every letter. The overall character a name carries.
9Soul urgeThe humanitarianIdealistic, compassionate, thinks in big-picture terms.Sum of the vowels — what's said to drive the heart.
8PersonalityThe achieverDriven, capable, comfortable wielding influence.Sum of the consonants — the outer impression.

34,975

Total babies (all years)

Years in the data

2,250

Peak in a single year

Popularity Over Time — Boys

Also a character in

In Bible: Samuel — prophet
In Élite: Samuel — working-class scholarship student

Famous people named Samuel

Samuel BeckettFrench resistance fighter · b. 1906
Samuel Johnsonlexicographer · b. 1709
Samuel Taylor Coleridgecritic · b. 1772
Samuel Finley Breese Morseuniversity teacher · b. 1791
Samuel L. Jacksonfilm actor · b. 1948

More popular boys' names

Names ranked near Samuel in 2025

Other boys' names starting with S

Year-by-Year Detail

Rank is among all boys' names registered that year.

Year	Babies	Rank
1972	82	#97
1974	103	#95
1975	111	#93
1976	121	#90
1977	199	#62
1978	220	#54
1979	213	#60
1980	189	#64
1981	271	#52
1982	254	#54
1983	291	#46
1984	354	#38
1985	422	#36
1986	487	#29
1987	585	#25
1988	680	#19
1989	764	#17
1990	963	#14
1991	1,026	#13
1992	1,026	#13
1993	1,003	#14
1994	891	#19
1995	853	#17
1996	897	#14
1997	960	#11
1998	949	#9
1999	921	#12
2000	882	#14
2001	787	#14
2002	833	#13
2003	886	#11
2004	879	#8
2005	837	#9
2006	459	#13
2007	493	#14
2008	771	#14
2009	782	#14
2010	751	#12
2011	739	#14
2012	641	#17
2013	669	#14
2014	670	#17
2015	2,108	#11
2016	2,250	#11
2017	806	#18
2018	698	#24
2019	836	#30
2020	554	#38
2021	387	#38
2022	316	#42
2023	313	#39
2024	385	#48
2025	408	#42