US rank #127 Girls' name Peak 1990 590,854 births

Samantha — #127 US girls' name

590,854 babies named Samantha in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1990. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

1880s1591890s1741900s1351910s1811920s1861930s1751940s2921950s4861960s110291970s289131980s1211261990s2240202000s1343102010s569222020s12746
#127
of 17,661 girls in use

More common than 99.3% of names given to girls today.

1990s
Peak decade

38% of everyone ever named Samantha was born in this single decade.

1990
Single peak year

25,868 babies were named Samantha in 1990 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Samantha

The Social Security Administration has registered 590,854 babies named Samantha between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a girl's name, Samantha currently holds the #127 rank among girls for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 1990, when 25,868 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Samantha performed strongest in the 1990s, accumulating 224,020 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Samantha shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in California, which accounts for 79,900 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by Texas and New York. In total, SSA state-level files list Samantha in 51 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.

No etymological entry is currently available for Samantha in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 590,854 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.

Samantha at a glance

Top 1,000 girls' name

Total births

590,854

Since 1880

145 years of records

Peak year

1990

25,868 births that year

Strongest decade: 1990s

Current rank

#127

Among girls

As of 2024

Active since

1880

Recorded for 145 years

Last year on file: 2024

Samantha popularity over time — girls

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2024–1880

Top 1,000 girls' name
Peak year (1990)
25,868
Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
-10,000010,00020,00030,000 202420051986196719481929191018911880 21

Samantha popularity over time — boys

1,205 total births recorded since 1965 (Samantha as boys' name)

Unisex variant — 1,205 births
-50050100150 20172009200219951988198119741965 8

Samantha by decade

Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance

Peak: 1990s
Peak decade
1990s
224,020 births that decade — 38% of Samantha's all-time total
1880s1591890s1741900s1351910s1811920s1861930s1751940s2921950s4861960s110291970s289131980s1211261990s2240202000s1343102010s569222020s12746

Samantha by state

Where Samantha concentrates geographically — total births since 1880

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Samantha
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 California
79,900 13.5%
#2 Texas
46,882 7.9%
#3 New York
46,641 7.9%
#4 Florida
29,549 5.0%
#5 Illinois
28,210 4.8%
#6 Pennsylvania
26,178 4.4%
#7 Ohio
24,908 4.2%
#8 Michigan
21,612 3.7%
California share of Samantha's total US births 13.5%
Even split

79,900 of 590,854 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.

Samantha appears in 51 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Samantha?
590,854 babies have been named Samantha since 1880. It currently ranks #127 among girls. The peak year was 1990 with 25,868 births.
When was Samantha most popular?
Samantha was most popular in the 1990s decade with 224,020 total births. The single peak year was 1990.
Where is Samantha most popular?
The top states for the name Samantha are California (79,900 births), Texas (46,882 births), New York (46,641 births).
How long has the name Samantha been used?
Samantha has been recorded in Social Security data since 1880, spanning 145 years of data through 2024.
What names are similar to Samantha?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Samara, Samira, Sammie, Samiyah, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for girls.

Keep exploring Samantha

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Data Sources

Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1880–2024 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.