Samantha
Samantha was given to 1,973 girls in 2025, #151 among girls’ names; 594,052 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 580,000 Americans named Samantha and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (98% of everyone recorded); the median is 31 years old and half are between 23 and 37.
Samantha is the #28 most common first name among living American women and girls, by this estimate.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Samantha by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Samantha mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Samantha is “a female given name from Hebrew.”
It was recorded in the 17th century in England. Most probably a feminine form of Samuel, possibly influenced by Anthea. Other suggestions include Aramaic ܫܡܥܢܬܐ (šemʿanta, “listener”, noun), from ܫܡܥ. In India, Samantha can be interpreted as a variant spelling of Samanta, from Sanskrit समन्त (samanta, “universal, adjacent”).
/səˈmænθə/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Samantha?
#151 among girls’ names, 2025
Samantha fell from #40 in 2015 to #151 in 2025 among girls’ names; its share of girls born fell from 3.0 to 1.2 per 1,000.
25,926 babies in 1990, the peak
Samantha peaked in 1990, when 25,926 babies were given it (25,868 girls, #5 among girls’ names). The 1,973 births of 2025 are 8% of that peak.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1,973 | #151 | 1.2 |
| 2024 | 2,232 | #126 | 1.4 |
| 2023 | 2,372 | #114 | 1.5 |
| 2022 | 2,605 | #106 | 1.6 |
| 2021 | 2,599 | #106 | 1.6 |
| 2020 | 2,956 | #90 | 1.8 |
| 2019 | 3,369 | #80 | 2.0 |
| 2018 | 3,924 | #61 | 2.3 |
| 2017 | 4,333 | #54 | 2.5 |
| 2016 | 4,956 | #44 | 2.8 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 girls |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 5,347 | #40 | 3.0 |
| 2014 | 5,735 | #33 | 3.2 |
| 2013 | 6,516 | #29 | 3.7 |
| 2012 | 6,938 | #26 | 3.9 |
| 2011 | 7,400 | #17 | 4.2 |
| 2010 | 8,411 | #15 | 4.7 |
| 2009 | 9,669 | #14 | 5.3 |
| 2008 | 11,190 | #11 | 5.9 |
| 2007 | 11,883 | #12 | 6.2 |
| 2006 | 12,470 | #10 | 6.6 |
| 2005 | 13,642 | #8 | 7.4 |
| 2004 | 13,786 | #9 | 7.5 |
| 2003 | 13,870 | #10 | 7.6 |
| 2002 | 14,671 | #9 | 8.2 |
| 2001 | 15,867 | #7 | 8.8 |
| 2000 | 17,265 | #7 | 9.5 |
| 1999 | 19,044 | #5 | 10.7 |
| 1998 | 20,195 | #3 | 11.4 |
| 1997 | 20,170 | #6 | 11.6 |
| 1996 | 20,552 | #5 | 11.7 |
| 1995 | 21,644 | #4 | 12.3 |
| 1994 | 22,824 | #4 | 12.8 |
| 1993 | 23,668 | #4 | 13.1 |
| 1992 | 24,407 | #6 | 13.2 |
| 1991 | 25,651 | #5 | 13.7 |
| 1990 | 25,868 | #5 | 13.6 |
| 1989 | 24,792 | #6 | 13.4 |
| 1988 | 20,700 | #8 | 11.6 |
| 1987 | 17,944 | #11 | 10.3 |
| 1986 | 14,092 | #21 | 8.2 |
| 1985 | 10,658 | #29 | 6.2 |
| 1984 | 8,038 | #39 | 4.8 |
| 1983 | 7,703 | #40 | 4.6 |
| 1982 | 6,768 | #44 | 4.0 |
| 1981 | 5,516 | #51 | 3.3 |
| 1980 | 4,913 | #58 | 3.0 |
| 1979 | 4,461 | #66 | 2.8 |
| 1978 | 3,886 | #74 | 2.5 |
| 1977 | 3,284 | #85 | 2.1 |
| 1976 | 3,347 | #85 | 2.3 |
| 1975 | 2,834 | #101 | 1.9 |
| 1974 | 2,251 | #128 | 1.5 |
| 1973 | 2,119 | #135 | 1.5 |
| 1972 | 2,220 | #137 | 1.5 |
| 1971 | 2,209 | #144 | 1.3 |
| 1970 | 2,295 | #149 | 1.3 |
| 1969 | 2,422 | #140 | 1.4 |
| 1968 | 2,335 | #136 | 1.4 |
| 1967 | 1,804 | #176 | 1.1 |
| 1966 | 1,793 | #182 | 1.1 |
| 1965 | 1,961 | #179 | 1.1 |
| 1964 | 415 | #474 | 0.22 |
| 1963 | 71 | #1,316 | 0.04 |
| 1962 | 73 | #1,298 | 0.04 |
| 1961 | 72 | #1,316 | 0.04 |
| 1960 | 81 | #1,215 | 0.04 |
| 1959 | 111 | #1,003 | 0.05 |
| 1958 | 109 | #997 | 0.05 |
| 1957 | 38 | #1,772 | 0.02 |
| 1956 | 29 | #2,045 | 0.01 |
| 1955 | 27 | #2,094 | 0.01 |
| 1954 | 30 | #1,936 | 0.02 |
| 1953 | 31 | #1,820 | 0.02 |
| 1952 | 38 | #1,574 | 0.02 |
| 1951 | 38 | #1,552 | 0.02 |
| 1950 | 35 | #1,595 | 0.02 |
| 1949 | 44 | #1,404 | 0.03 |
| 1948 | 40 | #1,470 | 0.02 |
| 1947 | 30 | #1,783 | 0.02 |
| 1946 | 33 | #1,552 | 0.02 |
| 1945 | 31 | #1,475 | 0.02 |
| 1944 | 24 | #1,736 | 0.02 |
| 1943 | 27 | #1,654 | 0.02 |
| 1942 | 24 | #1,750 | 0.02 |
| 1941 | 20 | #1,871 | 0.02 |
| 1940 | 19 | #1,888 | 0.02 |
| 1939 | 23 | #1,628 | 0.02 |
| 1938 | 17 | #2,010 | 0.02 |
| 1937 | 23 | #1,620 | 0.02 |
| 1936 | 20 | #1,735 | 0.02 |
| 1935 | 22 | #1,655 | 0.02 |
| 1934 | 15 | #2,162 | 0.01 |
| 1933 | 15 | #2,137 | 0.01 |
| 1932 | 16 | #2,109 | 0.01 |
| 1931 | 10 | #2,945 | 0.01 |
| 1930 | 14 | #2,402 | 0.01 |
| 1929 | 14 | #2,406 | 0.01 |
| 1928 | 14 | #2,484 | 0.01 |
| 1927 | 11 | #3,021 | 0.01 |
| 1926 | 9 | #3,511 | 0.01 |
| 1925 | 19 | #2,107 | 0.02 |
| 1924 | 15 | #2,496 | 0.01 |
| 1923 | 22 | #1,889 | 0.02 |
| 1922 | 28 | #1,608 | 0.02 |
| 1921 | 28 | #1,612 | 0.02 |
| 1920 | 26 | #1,661 | 0.02 |
| 1919 | 23 | #1,736 | 0.02 |
| 1918 | 17 | #2,190 | 0.01 |
| 1917 | 23 | #1,644 | 0.02 |
| 1916 | 20 | #1,792 | 0.02 |
| 1915 | 20 | #1,732 | 0.02 |
| 1914 | 20 | #1,477 | 0.03 |
| 1913 | 13 | #1,749 | 0.02 |
| 1912 | 20 | #1,211 | 0.04 |
| 1911 | 15 | #1,226 | 0.04 |
| 1910 | 10 | #1,613 | 0.03 |
| 1909 | 10 | #1,459 | 0.03 |
| 1908 | 13 | #1,191 | 0.04 |
| 1907 | 16 | #984 | 0.05 |
| 1906 | 13 | #1,093 | 0.04 |
| 1905 | 12 | #1,154 | 0.04 |
| 1904 | 8 | #1,460 | 0.03 |
| 1903 | 5 | #2,042 | 0.02 |
| 1902 | 15 | #932 | 0.06 |
| 1901 | 16 | #852 | 0.07 |
| 1900 | 27 | #701 | 0.09 |
| 1899 | 15 | #867 | 0.06 |
| 1898 | 21 | #743 | 0.08 |
| 1897 | 13 | #926 | 0.06 |
| 1896 | 18 | #785 | 0.08 |
| 1895 | 16 | #814 | 0.07 |
| 1894 | 16 | #779 | 0.07 |
| 1893 | 20 | #656 | 0.09 |
| 1892 | 20 | #661 | 0.09 |
| 1891 | 20 | #606 | 0.11 |
| 1890 | 15 | #720 | 0.08 |
| 1889 | 14 | #718 | 0.08 |
| 1888 | 18 | #608 | 0.10 |
| 1887 | 16 | #583 | 0.11 |
| 1886 | 13 | #654 | 0.09 |
| 1885 | 17 | #538 | 0.13 |
| 1884 | 16 | #538 | 0.12 |
| 1883 | 17 | #479 | 0.15 |
| 1882 | 15 | #490 | 0.14 |
| 1881 | 12 | #501 | 0.13 |
| 1880 | 21 | #365 | 0.23 |
Ranks and shares: girls’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all girls SSA recorded that year.
Is Samantha a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Samantha has been given almost only to girls: 1,205 boys in 146 years of records.
Girls and boys named Samantha: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Samantha, and how old are they?
580,000 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 98% of the 594,052 Americans ever recorded as Samantha. The median Samantha alive today is 31 years old; half are between 23 and 37.
The 2020 Census counted 517,508 people named Samantha (516,848 women and girls, 660 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 569,364 born in the U.S. The Census count is 9% below that prediction.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 117 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 1,100 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 41,400 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 274,000 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 214,000 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 48,600 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Samantha born?
The states with the most babies named Samantha are California, Texas and Florida, with 40% of its births recorded by state in 2025.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank, girls | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| California | 348 | #81 | 1.0× |
| Texas | 259 | #118 | 0.9× |
| Florida | 170 | #98 | 1.0× |
| New York | 84 | #202 | 1.2× |
| Illinois | 79 | #119 | 1.0× |
| New Jersey | 74 | #95 | 1.2× |
| North Carolina | 64 | #162 | 0.8× |
| Virginia | 63 | #115 | 0.9× |
| Georgia | 54 | #197 | 0.7× |
| Washington | 51 | #136 | 0.9× |
Where Samantha is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Samantha is most over-represented in New Jersey: since 1910 it was given 1.2 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among girls’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Samantha with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 7 names spelled alike, given to 597,571 babies since 1880, Samantha is the most given (99% of them). In 2025 it was given to 1,973 of their 1,973 babies (100%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Samantha
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Samantha and names like it
- Compare Samantha and SammanthaBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1990sSamantha peaked in 1990.
- California’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Samantha since 1910.
- Hebrew namesWiktionary’s origin for Samantha: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1990The year the most babies were named Samantha.
- The names of the MillennialsMost people named Samantha alive today were born 1981-1996.
- Names starting with SMost given first.