Sam

English, diminutive of Samuel

"told by God"

Sam Origin and Meaning

The name Sam is a boy's name of Hebrew, English origin meaning "told by God".

Sam has long been used on its own for boys, as accepted standing by itself as it is as a short form of Samuel. Straightforward and down-to-earth, Sam is the name of the son of the co-stars of The Americans, Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys. Sam is one of the most popular names that start with S in the Western world, ranking higher in several European countries than it does in the US, where it's trended downward since the 19th century, though it's always been in the Top 1000.

Sam Rank in US Top 1000

# 672 in the US

Sam Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 567 on Nameberry

Popularity of the name Sam

• 672 US 2023
• 567 Nameberry 2025
• 189 Canada 2022
• 620 Future 2028
• 314 England 2023
• 129 Scotland 2024
• 54 Ireland 2024
• 113 Germany 2016
• 13 Netherlands 2024
• 11 Sweden 2024
• 85 Belgium 2020
• 184 Switzerland 2021
• 77 Dogs 2022
• 49 Cats 2023

20 Names Similar to Sam

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Sam.

• Ben
• Will
• Tommy
• Jake
• Nick
• Billy
• Toby
• Bobby
• Jamie
• Joey
• Andy
• Nate
• Tom
• Lee
• Ray
• Joe
• Scott
• Johnny
• Mark
• Jay

Famous People Named Sam

• Sam Shepard (nee Samuel Shepard Rogers III) American playwright and actor
• Sam Wills prop comic
• Samuel Atkinson "Sam" Waterston American actor
• Nigel John Dermot "Sam" Neill New Zealand actor
• Samuel Jacob "Sam" Bradford American football player
• Sam Page (born Samuel L. Elliott), American actor
• Sam Newton Battenberg Faulkner English singer,songwriter
• Samuel George "Sam" Claflin English actor
• Sam Rockwell American actor
• Sam Lowry Hunt American singer,songwriter
• Sam Fox son of Michael J. Fox
• Sam Evans (b. 2016) son of Keri Russell and Matthew Rhys
• Sam Griffiths Australian horse rider
• Sam Brody Jenner American television personality
• Sam H. Harris American producer and theater owner
• Sam "SG" Lewis British DJ and producer

The name Sam in Pop Culture

• Sam Harmon character in "Ocean's" series
• Samwell "Sam" Tarley character on HBO's "Game of Thrones"
• Sam Malone main character on NBC's "Cheers"
• Samuel "Sam" Winchester main character on The CW's "Supernatural"
• Sam Wilson aka Falcon, Marvel Comics character
• Samwise "Sam" Gamgee hobbit from "The Lord of the Rings"
• Sam Whitwickey main character in "Transformers" movies
• Sam Evans character on Fox's "Glee"
• Sam Healy character on Netflix's "Orange Is the New Black"
• Sam Camden one of the twins on The CW's "7th Heaven"
• Sam Conroy character in the movie "American Violet"
• Sam Coyote character on CBS' "Walker, Texas Ranger"
• Sam Roth character in Maggie Stiefvator's series "Wolves of Mercy Falls"
• Sam Temple protagonist from "Gone" series
• Sam Braddock character on CTV's "Flashpoint"
• Samuel "Sam" Alexander aka Nova, Marvel superhero
• Sam Radley character in the "Hardy Boys" series
• Sam Hanna Special Agent on CBS' "NCIS: Los Angeles"
• Sam Bell character in "Moon"
• Sam the Onion Man character from the book and film "Holes"
• Sam Sekemoto character in "The Sims 3" computer game
• Sam Anderson character on AMC's "The Walking Dead"
• Sam character on ABC's "Private Practice"
• Sam character in the movie Lost Boys
• Sam Lane character on The CW's "Supergirl"
• Samuel Joseph "Sam" Scudder aka Mirror Master character on The CW's "The Flash"
• Big Sam character in "Gone with the Wind"
• Sam (Sam I,Am), character from "Green Eggs and Ham" by Dr. Seuss
• Uncle Sam a character used to help the United States to recruit men into the military
• Sam Quintana character in the young adult book "Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe," by Benjamin Alire Sáenz.
• Sam Scott character on Channel 4's "extr@"
• Sam Cortland character in the "Throne of Glass" series by Sarah J. Maas
• Sam Carmichael character in the "Mamma Mia!" musical and films
• Sam dog detective character from cult franchise "Sam and Max"