Sammy
Sammy is given to both girls and boys: 25 girls and 85 boys were given it in 2025 (#5,207 among girls’ names and #1,864 among boys’, #3,330 among all names counting both); 45,140 Americans have been recorded with it since 1896 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 28,500 Americans named Sammy and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (63% of everyone recorded); the median is 60 years old and half are between 38 and 72.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Sammy by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Sammy mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Sammy is “a diminutive of the male given name Samuel.”
Also “a diminutive of the female given name Samantha.”
From Sam + -y.
/ˈsæmi/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Sammy?
#1,864 among boys’ names, 2025
Sammy fell from #1,379 in 2015 to #1,864 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born fell from 65.7 to 49.8 per million.
1,239 babies in 1947, the peak
Sammy peaked in 1947, when 1,239 babies were given it (1,210 boys, #175 among boys’ names). The 110 births of 2025 (girls and boys) are 9% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 85 | #1,864 | 0.05 |
| 2024 | 114 | #1,547 | 0.07 |
| 2023 | 98 | #1,717 | 0.06 |
| 2022 | 115 | #1,558 | 0.07 |
| 2021 | 122 | #1,478 | 0.07 |
| 2020 | 104 | #1,574 | 0.06 |
| 2019 | 104 | #1,603 | 0.06 |
| 2018 | 117 | #1,487 | 0.06 |
| 2017 | 140 | #1,299 | 0.08 |
| 2016 | 129 | #1,380 | 0.07 |
Every recorded year (127)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 126 | #1,379 | 0.07 |
| 2014 | 143 | #1,254 | 0.07 |
| 2013 | 119 | #1,412 | 0.06 |
| 2012 | 120 | #1,395 | 0.06 |
| 2011 | 158 | #1,146 | 0.08 |
| 2010 | 154 | #1,178 | 0.08 |
| 2009 | 158 | #1,155 | 0.08 |
| 2008 | 205 | #975 | 0.10 |
| 2007 | 184 | #1,027 | 0.09 |
| 2006 | 198 | #947 | 0.10 |
| 2005 | 214 | #862 | 0.11 |
| 2004 | 217 | #822 | 0.11 |
| 2003 | 217 | #802 | 0.11 |
| 2002 | 200 | #834 | 0.10 |
| 2001 | 234 | #745 | 0.12 |
| 2000 | 218 | #762 | 0.11 |
| 1999 | 209 | #764 | 0.11 |
| 1998 | 248 | #685 | 0.13 |
| 1997 | 195 | #764 | 0.10 |
| 1996 | 183 | #792 | 0.10 |
| 1995 | 179 | #799 | 0.09 |
| 1994 | 220 | #703 | 0.11 |
| 1993 | 195 | #748 | 0.10 |
| 1992 | 270 | #627 | 0.14 |
| 1991 | 242 | #653 | 0.12 |
| 1990 | 294 | #585 | 0.14 |
| 1989 | 288 | #572 | 0.14 |
| 1988 | 234 | #619 | 0.12 |
| 1987 | 248 | #578 | 0.13 |
| 1986 | 262 | #549 | 0.14 |
| 1985 | 243 | #567 | 0.13 |
| 1984 | 217 | #577 | 0.12 |
| 1983 | 254 | #524 | 0.14 |
| 1982 | 270 | #518 | 0.15 |
| 1981 | 262 | #520 | 0.15 |
| 1980 | 343 | #452 | 0.19 |
| 1979 | 291 | #485 | 0.17 |
| 1978 | 297 | #468 | 0.18 |
| 1977 | 331 | #437 | 0.20 |
| 1976 | 343 | #420 | 0.22 |
| 1975 | 352 | #411 | 0.23 |
| 1974 | 394 | #392 | 0.25 |
| 1973 | 439 | #367 | 0.28 |
| 1972 | 460 | #368 | 0.28 |
| 1971 | 507 | #358 | 0.29 |
| 1970 | 474 | #373 | 0.26 |
| 1969 | 508 | #353 | 0.28 |
| 1968 | 513 | #340 | 0.30 |
| 1967 | 548 | #319 | 0.31 |
| 1966 | 570 | #310 | 0.32 |
| 1965 | 619 | #303 | 0.33 |
| 1964 | 735 | #288 | 0.37 |
| 1963 | 705 | #292 | 0.35 |
| 1962 | 752 | #280 | 0.36 |
| 1961 | 787 | #278 | 0.37 |
| 1960 | 865 | #272 | 0.41 |
| 1959 | 858 | #269 | 0.40 |
| 1958 | 873 | #263 | 0.41 |
| 1957 | 795 | #266 | 0.37 |
| 1956 | 739 | #269 | 0.35 |
| 1955 | 750 | #251 | 0.36 |
| 1954 | 769 | #251 | 0.38 |
| 1953 | 770 | #244 | 0.39 |
| 1952 | 781 | #239 | 0.40 |
| 1951 | 884 | #219 | 0.47 |
| 1950 | 886 | #214 | 0.49 |
| 1949 | 1,000 | #202 | 0.56 |
| 1948 | 1,075 | #186 | 0.61 |
| 1947 | 1,210 | #175 | 0.66 |
| 1946 | 1,193 | #170 | 0.73 |
| 1945 | 949 | #174 | 0.71 |
| 1944 | 973 | #173 | 0.71 |
| 1943 | 899 | #183 | 0.63 |
| 1942 | 832 | #194 | 0.60 |
| 1941 | 652 | #208 | 0.53 |
| 1940 | 577 | #217 | 0.50 |
| 1939 | 503 | #232 | 0.45 |
| 1938 | 496 | #239 | 0.45 |
| 1937 | 471 | #248 | 0.44 |
| 1936 | 461 | #245 | 0.44 |
| 1935 | 436 | #258 | 0.42 |
| 1934 | 412 | #269 | 0.40 |
| 1933 | 349 | #281 | 0.35 |
| 1932 | 354 | #290 | 0.34 |
| 1931 | 345 | #300 | 0.33 |
| 1930 | 346 | #305 | 0.32 |
| 1929 | 300 | #319 | 0.28 |
| 1928 | 280 | #340 | 0.25 |
| 1927 | 235 | #390 | 0.21 |
| 1926 | 202 | #428 | 0.18 |
| 1925 | 157 | #487 | 0.14 |
| 1924 | 163 | #487 | 0.14 |
| 1923 | 147 | #506 | 0.13 |
| 1922 | 130 | #555 | 0.12 |
| 1921 | 115 | #596 | 0.10 |
| 1920 | 113 | #589 | 0.11 |
| 1919 | 86 | #671 | 0.09 |
| 1918 | 82 | #698 | 0.08 |
| 1917 | 72 | #738 | 0.08 |
| 1916 | 53 | #873 | 0.06 |
| 1915 | 50 | #877 | 0.06 |
| 1914 | 51 | #742 | 0.08 |
| 1913 | 20 | #1,171 | 0.04 |
| 1912 | 23 | #963 | 0.05 |
| 1911 | 20 | #727 | 0.09 |
| 1910 | 23 | #617 | 0.12 |
| 1909 | 6 | #1,420 | 0.04 |
| 1908 | 13 | #773 | 0.08 |
| 1907 | 10 | #922 | 0.07 |
| 1906 | 6 | #1,230 | 0.05 |
| 1905 | 5 | #1,395 | 0.04 |
| 1904 | 13 | #678 | 0.10 |
| 1903 | 6 | #1,110 | 0.05 |
| 1902 | 7 | #1,005 | 0.06 |
| 1901 | 5 | #1,190 | 0.05 |
| 1900 | 7 | #1,147 | 0.05 |
| 1896 | 5 | #1,242 | 0.04 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Sammy a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 45,140 Americans recorded as Sammy, 4% are girls and 96% boys.
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Sammy: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Sammy, and how old are they?
28,500 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 63% of the 45,140 Americans ever recorded as Sammy. The median Sammy alive today is 60 years old; half are between 38 and 72.
The 2020 Census counted 26,625 people named Sammy (2,256 women and girls, 24,369 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 31,357 born in the U.S. The Census count is 15% below that prediction. Possible reasons: people who give a short form or another name to the Census, and a survival estimate that can run high.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 2,520 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 10,900 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 6,260 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 3,860 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 3,260 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 1,770 |
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 Sammy born?
The states with the most babies named Sammy are Texas, California and Georgia, with 33% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 6,977 | #2,050 | 2.3× |
| California | 3,476 | #1,803 | 0.9× |
| Georgia | 2,519 | not ranked | 2.0× |
| Tennessee | 2,245 | #1,160 | 2.2× |
| North Carolina | 2,009 | not ranked | 1.5× |
| Mississippi | 1,790 | not ranked | 2.5× |
| New York | 1,765 | #1,722 | 0.5× |
| Alabama | 1,571 | not ranked | 1.6× |
| Arkansas | 1,566 | not ranked | 2.7× |
| South Carolina | 1,515 | not ranked | 2.0× |
Where Sammy is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Sammy is most over-represented in New Mexico: since 1910 it was given 3.5 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 boys’ 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 Sammy 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 6 names spelled alike, given to 82,747 babies since 1880, Sammy is the most given (55% of them). In 2025 it was given to 110 of their 462 babies (24%), the second most given that year.
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 Sammy
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 Sammy and names like it
- Compare Sammy and SammieBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1940sSammy peaked in 1947.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Sammy since 1910.
- The top names of 1947The year the most babies were named Sammy.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Sammy alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with SMost given first.