Samuel Name Meaning

A biblical name of epic proportions, Samuel is derived from the Hebrew Shemu’el, meaning “name of God.” His use is widespread, stretching across the world in many languages including Spanish, German, and French.

Samuel is likable and friendly, his nicknames Sam and Sammy both conjuring up boy next door images. Samuel is as well known as Michael or James yet not as common, managing to retain his appeal without feeling overused or bland. Like Silas or Sebastian, he’s an old-school S name choice with modern appeal.

As his meaning suggests, Samuel is a deeply religious name rooted in Judaism and Christianity. In the Old Testament, Samuel was the son of Hannah and Elkanah and lead the Israelites to victory as a prophet of God. He was a devoted and fair man, going on to become the first king of Israel. In addition, Samuel has been the name of politicians and authors, notably the birth name of none other than American treasure Mark Twain.

Samuel is a name with heart and conviction. His history of strong leaders give him a backbone made for standing up for what’s right, time and time again. He’s strong and resilient, ready to give each day his all.

Infographic of Samuel name meaning, which is A derivative of Shemuel, Samuel is a Hebrew name meaning name of God.
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Samuel Name Popularity

How popular is the name Samuel? Here’s everything we know.

Year Rank # Births % Births
1910 32 1,085 0.3082%
1911 30 1,372 0.3684%
1912 30 2,585 0.5126%
1913 36 2,841 0.5011%
1914 36 3,693 0.5299%
1915 39 4,340 0.4777%
1916 41 4,391 0.4546%
1917 42 4,483 0.4481%
1918 43 4,771 0.4445%
1919 43 4,472 0.4271%
1920 44 4,648 0.418%
1921 44 4,749 0.4147%
1922 43 4,594 0.4124%
1923 45 4,571 0.4081%
1924 45 4,589 0.3952%
1925 46 4,396 0.3889%
1926 48 4,174 0.3795%
1927 49 4,182 0.3778%
1928 52 3,838 0.3587%
1929 53 3,546 0.3423%
1930 55 3,512 0.3362%
1931 56 3,365 0.3409%
1932 56 3,390 0.3431%
1933 61 3,099 0.3326%
1934 66 3,126 0.3234%
1935 62 3,130 0.3221%
1936 67 2,884 0.2994%
1937 66 3,010 0.3055%
1938 62 3,235 0.316%
1939 63 3,237 0.3182%
1940 65 3,355 0.3156%
1941 65 3,530 0.3136%
1942 59 4,181 0.3311%
1943 62 4,121 0.3157%
1944 62 3,938 0.3177%
1945 62 3,947 0.3236%
1946 70 4,513 0.3058%
1947 72 5,098 0.3054%
1948 70 4,996 0.313%
1949 62 5,350 0.3326%
1950 62 5,221 0.3243%
1951 67 5,468 0.3225%
1952 67 5,650 0.3237%
1953 70 5,419 0.3062%
1954 71 5,634 0.3082%
1955 71 5,525 0.3004%
1956 74 5,571 0.295%
1957 82 5,231 0.2718%
1958 85 5,034 0.2664%
1959 86 4,948 0.2604%
1960 91 4,706 0.2484%
1961 89 4,670 0.2474%
1962 88 4,535 0.247%
1963 87 4,508 0.2511%
1964 86 4,464 0.2536%
1965 84 4,388 0.2683%
1966 81 4,152 0.2659%
1967 69 4,228 0.2786%
1968 66 4,114 0.274%
1969 64 4,429 0.2875%
1970 62 4,559 0.2865%
1971 65 4,404 0.2931%
1972 66 4,215 0.3095%
1973 66 4,267 0.3291%
1974 60 4,673 0.3595%
1975 61 4,621 0.3596%
1976 59 5,028 0.3901%
1977 60 5,263 0.3904%
1978 57 5,392 0.4011%
1979 55 5,684 0.4031%
1980 54 6,011 0.4111%
1981 54 6,037 0.4107%
1982 56 6,010 0.4022%
1983 54 6,200 0.4201%
1984 55 6,362 0.4277%
1985 54 7,003 0.4614%
1986 52 7,573 0.5017%
1987 50 8,573 0.5618%
1988 45 9,557 0.6133%
1989 47 10,103 0.6261%
1990 45 10,885 0.6567%
1991 39 11,229 0.6889%
1992 40 11,338 0.7103%
1993 37 11,704 0.7507%
1994 33 12,142 0.7912%
1995 33 12,432 0.8249%
1996 30 13,622 0.9098%
1997 27 14,228 0.962%
1998 28 13,907 0.9292%
1999 27 14,032 0.937%
2000 28 14,170 0.9276%
2001 26 14,790 0.9816%
2002 25 14,559 0.9715%
2003 23 14,662 0.9638%
2004 23 14,106 0.9255%
2005 21 14,251 0.9321%
2006 25 13,632 0.8706%
2007 25 13,352 0.8463%
2008 27 12,751 0.825%
2009 24 12,146 0.8126%
2010 24 11,959 0.8299%
2011 26 11,340 0.7959%
2012 25 11,447 0.8033%
2013 25 11,110 0.7803%
2014 23 10,987 0.7541%
2015 23 10,853 0.7459%
2016 21 10,554 0.732%
2017 21 10,323 0.7396%
2018 21 9,734 0.7085%
2019 22 9,237 0.6823%
2020 24 8,355 0.6564%
2021 23 8,501 0.6954%
2022 19 8,215 0.6227%

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Data via SSA.gov.

Names Like Samuel

If you like Samuel, you’ll love these other names like Samuel.

What names are diminutives of Samuel?

A diminutive is a name that’s like Samuel sounds, you might also like these names that sound like Samuel, but shorter.

Name Meaning Origin Popularity Other Gender
Sam

A short form of Samson and Samuel.

American

Sami

On high, exalted

Arabic

Sammie

God heard

Hebrew

Sammy

God heard

Hebrew

Shem

Name, fame

Hebrew

What names are variants of Samuel?

Mix it up with these names that are a variation of the name Samuel.

Name Meaning Origin Popularity Other Gender
Samual
Samuele

God heard

Hebrew

Samuello

God heard

Hebrew

What names sound like Samuel?

If you like how Samuel sounds, you might also like these names that sound like Samuel.

Name Meaning Origin Popularity Other Gender
Ishmael

God listens

Hebrew

Ismael

God will hear

Spanish

Kemuel

Helper of God

Hebrew

Lemuel

Belonging to God

Hebrew

Saman

Jasmine

Persian

Samir

Good friend

Arabic, Indian (Sanskrit)

Samoset

He Who Walks Over Much

Native American

Sampson

Sun

Hebrew

Samson

Sun

Hebrew

Samwell

God heard

Hebrew

What names are similar to Samuel?

Find a name that’s like Samuel, but just a little bit different.

Name Meaning Origin Popularity Other Gender
Abel

Breath

Hebrew

Abraham

Father of nations

Hebrew

Benjamin

A favorite son

Hebrew

David

Beloved

Hebrew

Isaac

He will laugh

Hebrew

John

God is gracious

Hebrew

Joseph

Jehovah will increase

Hebrew

Luke

From Lucania

Greek

Matthew

Gift of God

Hebrew

Paul

Small

Latin

Lists With Samuel

Find inspiration in these baby boy name lists featuring the name Samuel.

Siblings of Samuel

Mamas with kids named Samuel also have kids with these names.

Name Meaning Origin Popularity Other Gender
Michael

Who is Like God?

Hebrew

Megan

Pearl

Welsh

Rebecca

To join

Hebrew

Katherine

Pure

Greek

Audrey

Noble strength

English

Clara

Bright and clear

Latin

Christian

Follower of Christ

Latin

Elsie

God is my oath

English

Layla

Night

Arabic

Skyler

Fugitive; giving shelter

Danish

Owen

Noble born

Welsh

Annalise

Created name

German

Elijah

My God is Yahweh

Hebrew

Jesse

Gift

Hebrew

Evelyn

Desired one

English

Grayson

Son of the steward

English

Sofia

Wisdom

Greek

Madison

Son of Maud

English

Dean

Valley

English

Eli

Ascension

Hebrew

Lydia
Julia

Youthful and downy

Latin

Raphael

Healing God

Hebrew

62 Comments

  1. After grandfather and father’s first name.
    We like the meaning of it.

    Reply

  2. We named our son Samuel after Saint Samuel. He is the intercessor for our family.

    Reply

  3. We named him after the prophet Samuel.

    Reply

  4. He had a long names list and we highlighted 10 of them, but Samuel seems to be the best name for his dad and I. Now that he’s here, we’re obsessed with our little one and we believe we chose the right name for him. ????

    Reply

  5. We chose Samuel’s name because it means “prayed for”. He was a prayed for baby for many years…. 8 to be exact. We waited along time for him but it was well worth the wait.

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  6. We chose Samuel in memory of a dear friend of ours. I love that it is an old classic name. We will call him Sam.

    Reply

  7. We chose Samuel because my husband had a dream while we were engaged that we had a son named Samuel. I love that there are so many nickname variations for the name. For example, Sammy, Sam and my brothers favorite, Sammich. There are not any things I don’t like about the name.

    Reply

  8. We chose Samuel because it is a family name on both sides, it is his father’s pen name and is the name of many Prophets of God.

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  9. My baby boy is named after his daddy. Samuel David

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  10. We had tried and prayed to get pregnant for a few years. We had 2 miscarriages and finally got pregnant with this sweet baby. from 1 Samuel 1:27. For this child I have prayed.

    Reply

  11. We chose Samuel because we wanted him to be able to have a special connection to a Biblical prophet just like his father Daniel does.

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  12. Well, I was at work one day and i helped a costumer and his name was Samuel. As soon as I heard that name, i knew this Samuel was from the Lord. I went home to look up the name, what it meant and the story behind it.
    Samuel is a Hebrew name that means God has heard. The story is in the Bible and it is beautiful. I prayed and cried out to God to bless me with a baby after loosing one before him.

    Reply

  13. Always has been one of my favorite names! We have friends with a 10 year old with the same name, but I think when it comes to your own family, pick a name you love regardless of whether someone picked it previously or not. It will make you happy calling out their name for the rest of your life!

    Reply

  14. It was a nickname for his grandfather and we thought it goes well with our other baby’s name – Harry . It will get abbreviated to Sam

    Reply

  15. I had planned to name him Josiah, but the moment I saw him, I didn’t think it was a good fit. Once I realized how alone we were going to be (just the two of us), I knew he needed a strong name. His sperm donor of a father suggested naming him after an actor. Who but Samuel L. Jackson popped into my head? Later, I found out that Samuel was a popular family name 2 generations earlier.

    Reply

  16. We thought it was a classic sounding name but not too old school. Also, it isn’t a very common name but is still easy to spell and say.

    Reply

  17. We chose Samuel because
    1) it is a name that is easy to pronounce in Russian and English for all of our family be able to say the name right:)
    2) Samuel is a wonderful Biblical character and we dedicate our baby to the Lord just as Anna did in the Bible with her son.

    Reply

  18. As soon as we found out I was pregnant my husband said if we had a boy he wanted to name him after his grandfather, and that was totally fine by me! I love naming my son after a strong, loving, patient, and kind man. We also love the meaning of Samuel and the Bible verse in Samuel chapter 3 “Speak, for your servant is listening.” My husband and I have frequently felt called by the Lord in various ways through our lives and we know that through that, we were brought to each other. We love our little man so incredibly much. Literally makes me cry every time I think about how much I love him (that could just be the postpartum hormones though).

    Reply

  19. We didn’t know what to name our son and couldnt agree on names. During my third trimester my husband had a dream we named him Samuel. We took it as a sign.

    Reply

  20. It’s just a name we liked. I saw it in a list of old-fashioned boys’ names and the only Samuel I knew was a client I don’t hate, so it went on the list. We didn’t know he was a boy or have firm names picked out for either gender, so once he was born, it was pretty clear that he was a Samuel.

    Reply

  21. We prayed for him, and he is dedicated to God.

    Reply

  22. though that’s short too.

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  23. Dan sounds male, though…

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  24. Daniel is actually long, though it sounds neutral because of the Dan.
    Samuel looks male, and it even sounds longer. Sam sounds neutral, though Samuel sounds male because of the U.

    Reply

  25. Names that end in “el” sound neutral, though it’s primarily male, the “el” is short and that makes it sound
    neutral. One thing, names that end in short soundings and names that are short sound neutral. Plus, Joel is short,
    though it sounds male because of the Joe. But Samuel sounds male, though it looks longer.

    Reply

  26. We named our son Samuel because we both never thought we would get to have him. We got married in our early 40’s, I have two kids from a previous relationship and my husband didn’t have any. We prayed for him and God heard and honored our request.

    Reply

  27. Very masculine name from the bible.

    Reply

  28. I chose the name Samuel because he was the man of God who was chosen by God to work for him before he was even born and also it’s because I love the name Samuel

    Reply

  29. We named Samuel after the prophet in the Bible and my husband’s great (to the 5th) grandfather that immigrated to America from Ireland.

    Reply

  30. A Bible name

    Reply

  31. We chose the name Samuel after I had a dream we had a boy and named him Samuel. We don’t go by Sam – but that is the only thing that I don’t like, is when people automatically call him Sam. He corrects them and says no my name is Samuel 🙂

    Reply

  32. Samuel in the Old Testament was not a king but he was the last of the judges. He anointed king Saul and David.

    Reply

  33. We chose the name Samuel because it’s a classic name that didn’t communicate a particular identity for our child in advance of him developing his own, and would grow with him well into adulthood. We also particularly liked the nickname “Sam“, as we could very easily imagine a little baby, child, teen, and grown man with that nickname. Lastly, we liked that it’s a Biblical name without being overtly denominational. It just felt right!

    Reply

  34. It’s his father’s middle name and I love it for 1 Samuel 1:27. I prayed for this child and the Lord answered my prayers

    Reply

  35. My sister actually gave me the name. I have been struggling with infertility for years and praying for a miracle. One day she had the name Samuel pop up in her head. She decided to look up the meaning and its God heard. When I found out I was pregnant with a boy I knew his name!

    Reply

  36. We chose Samuel because our story reflected that of Hannah and Samuel in the Bible. We had prayed for this child and we chose very early to dedicate this child to the Lord, to be used for His plan and purposes. God preserved the life of our child through a very complicated pregnancy and then when I went to deliver the Lord confirmed that his name should be Samuel multiple times a day, as we had interactions with people named Sam or Samuel, nurses children being named Samuel, and our discharge nurse being named Sam. We prayed that the Lord would confirm his name through the pregnancy and through His word, friends, and strangers God continued to highlight the name Samuel. We know God heard our prayers and has big plans for our son.

    Reply

  37. Samuel Jacob. I got Samuel from TV show Supernatural and plus it’s a good strong biblical name. His middle name Jacob I got from the movie saga Twilight.

    Reply

  38. I chose Samuel because it was a classic and strong name with roots to my family’s Jewish heritage. I also loved that it could be shortened to Sam or Sammy. I love a name that a child can grow into. It’s simply my favorite name.

    Reply

  39. Samuel is a family name on my husbands side. It’s my husband name, his fathers name and his grandfathers name

    Reply

  40. In a lot of television, samuel, or some derivative of same, is often the name of the supporting actor who is a loyal ride or die friend.

    I love theophilic names and Samuel is an ancient one that is also contemporary.

    I named my son Samuel and I believe he will grow into it and have all the wonderful characteristics Samuels have.

    Reply

  41. I love that we named our boy Samuel. Sammy is the sweetest, most unassuming name. it’s natural and comfortable.

    Reply

  42. He is just perfect and I’m in love

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  43. Beautiful baby

    Reply

  44. My husband and I both believe that the Lord spoke this name to my husband during a Thanksgiving community Church service. It means “God heard”
    I love his name, it fits him so well.

    Reply

  45. My husband and I were having a lot of trouble deciding on a name. We were going to go with Nathaniel but something stopped us.
    Then his sister said she was going to name her son dean after a supernatural character. Which is one thing her and I share so greatly. It’s about two brothers named dean and Samuel. So I’m light of that I asked if he was okay with the name Samuel aka Sammy. He loved it! Not because of the show like myself but because he just enjoyed the name so it was a win win and Sam and dean are going to grow up a duo just like the show.

    Reply

  46. My husband really liked the name Samuel. I liked that it was a name from the Bible, a prophet. We liked how we could shorten the name to Sam.

    Reply

  47. The name means God hears, and his middle name Emmet means truth. We believe in the One true God, and just like in the scriptures, Samuel was given as an answer to his mother’s prayer(aand in our case also his father’s, as he had all but given up in his dream of having a family of his own). He also was born at home, a successful hba2c. I had him in a healing second marriage that proves that having the right partner made so much difference!

    Reply

  48. He is named after my great grandfather who raised me because my father was in the military and he thought I needed a man in my life to raise me.

    Reply

  49. I named my son Samuel even befor I conceived him.
    If your among those who believes in God , for real God proved him self with my son . There is a gospel son about the story of Samuel in the Bible, I was always singing praises and crying to God to restore my pregnancy as I lost the first pregnancy a month before I miraculously conceived Samuel the following month. My reason for choosing Samuel cos he his indeed a child of God and he his going to work for God by the grace of almighty God who made it possible

    Reply

  50. My mother in law’s maiden name is Samuels. We loved the name and also the nickname Sam or Sammy. It also goes well with our last name.

    Reply

  51. Biblical name.

    Reply

  52. We knew we wanted to use a Biblical nameand I love the meaning of Samuel- God hasheard. I have always wanted to be a mom and felt that God truly heard my prayers in giving us this child. “For this child I have prayed, and the Lord has granted the desires of my heart.” 1 Samuel 1:27

    Reply

  53. I chose Samuel because it sounds strong. It’s a classic name with a wonderful flow to it and the cutest nicknames.

    Reply

  54. Samuel is our promised child. Before getting pregnant, and even before having thoughts of another child, we had three people tell me that God wanted to bless us with a son. At that point, we had a 10 and a 5 year old already and we weren’t thinking of another child. We were happy with our family of 4. However, after the third person told me God’s plan for us, I prayed about it. Sure enough the story of Hannah was something I was drawn to. I just knew that Samuel was the name God was telling me. I looked up the meaning in Hebrew and it means “told by God”. It fit perfectly for what was happening to us that I couldn’t deny it coming from God. I knew that only God could change my husband’s heart about having another child so I prayed and waited. Sure enough, a year later, my husband changed his mind. After two miscarriages, I held on to God’s promise and God gave us our promised boy on Feb 9th, 2019. He turned 6 months today.

    Reply

  55. We chose the name Samuel for our 4th child because of Hannah’s story in the Bible. She prays and prays for a child after being barren for a long time and the Lord blesses her with a son, Samuel, which means, “God heard.” Even though this is our 4th child, we tried very hard for years for this child (and lost another baby during that time as well). Having done our best and relying on God’s plan for our family, we, like Hannah, were finally blessed with this sweet baby, our Samuel! We are all so in love with him and he was worth the wait!

    Reply

  56. I wanted a bit before name that started with an S and I remember the story about Samuel and I said Don got one that be a nice name to name my child

    Reply

  57. We wanted a strong biblical name

    Reply

  58. Hi mummies,
    My name is Rosaria, well I am so delighted to share how I chose my son’s name. I chose ” Samuel” I love the story of Hannah in the book of 1 Samuel, I picked this name because God really gave me exactly what I asked for, hence I also gave him fully to God who gave me.. My son is a God given so the name “Samuel”….

    Reply

  59. One of the main reasons we chose the name Samuel is because of it’s meaning, “God has heard”. After close to 4 years of countless doctors visits and doctors telling me I’d probably never be able to conceive or would have to undergo costly fertility treatments, God answered our prayers and blessed us with a son. His full name is Samuel David (David means “Beloved”). Another reason, we love Samuel is because although my husband and I speak fluent English, our parents/grandparents do not (they speak predominantly Spanish). We wanted a name that would be easy to pronounce/spell in both languages, and Samuel fit the bill!

    Reply

  60. I chose Samuel once we found out that we were carrying a boy. I had prayed to conceive that little one and once we did and we were able to find out the gender it made sense to name him Samuel as I could totally relate to Hannah (from the bible).

    Reply

  61. Strong and classic but not overused. Means “heard by God” and he is our blessing. Goes well with his sibling Clara.

    Reply

  62. Samuel Francis was named for his paternal great grandfather and St. Francis of Assisi.

    Reply

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