Sam Boy
How popular is Sam?
#647 boy name in 2025
428 baby boys were named Sam in the US in 2025, making it the 647th most popular boy name. Another 24 girls got the name (#5,237 for girls).
Sam popularity over time
Boys Girls
| Rank in 2025 | #647 for boys (▲ 3 from 2024) |
|---|---|
| Babies in 2025 | 428 boys, 24 girls |
| 10-year trend | Falling (-18% babies vs 2015) |
| Earlier ranks | #546 in 2015, #655 in 2020 |
| Peak year | 1918 (2,506 boys) |
| Highest rank | #30 in 1882 |
| First recorded | 1880 |
| Boys vs girls (last 10 years) | 97% boys, 3% girls |
| Chance a classmate shares it | 0.3% in a class of 25 kids born in 2025 |
Sam counting every spelling
Social Security counts each spelling as its own name. Adding together the spellings that sound alike, the Sam family of names ranked #605 for boys in 2025 (#597 the year before), with 438 babies in all.
| Spelling | Boys in 2025 | Share |
|---|---|---|
| Sam | 428 | 98% |
| Saim | 10 | 2% |
Spellings are grouped by how they sound, using our own rules, so a few groupings may not match how your family says the name.
Where Sam is most popular
Babies named Sam per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021 to 2025. Darker means more common.
- Utah: 0.7 per 1,000 (63 boys)
- New York: 0.6 per 1,000 (263 boys)
- New Jersey: 0.5 per 1,000 (98 boys)
- Massachusetts: 0.5 per 1,000 (64 boys)
- Oregon: 0.5 per 1,000 (35 boys)
Sam by decade
| Decade | Baby boys | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 5,069 | #30 |
| 1890s | 4,941 | #38 |
| 1900s | 6,161 | #34 |
| 1910s | 18,544 | #39 |
| 1920s | 20,844 | #84 |
| 1930s | 13,350 | #110 |
| 1940s | 12,351 | #150 |
| 1950s | 10,052 | #201 |
| 1960s | 8,657 | #228 |
| 1970s | 4,516 | #320 |
| 1980s | 4,038 | #392 |
| 1990s | 5,437 | #383 |
| 2000s | 5,752 | #435 |
| 2010s | 5,034 | #471 |
| 2020s | 2,488 | #647 |
Boy names about as popular as Sam
Questions
- Is Sam a boy or girl name?
- Sam is mostly a boy name. Over the last 10 years, 97% of babies named Sam were boys.
- How popular is the name Sam?
- 428 baby boys were named Sam in the US in 2025, making it the 647th most popular boy name. Another 24 girls got the name (#5,237 for girls).
- When was Sam most popular?
- Sam peaked in 1918, when 2,506 boys were given the name. Its highest rank was #30 in 1882.
- How many people are named Sam?
- 128,810 babies have been named Sam in the US since 1880. We estimate about 49,625 of them are alive in 2026, with a median age of 52.
- Where is Sam most popular?
- From 2021 to 2025, Sam was most common in Utah, at 0.7 of every 1,000 boys born there.
Source: Social Security Administration baby name data, 1880 to 2025 (names given to at least 5 babies of a sex in a year). Living-people and median-age figures are our estimates using US life tables. How we calculate.