Meaning not yet researched.
Sam: US boys given the name each year, 1880 to 2025, from Social Security card applications. 428 in 2025. Its best rank was #30 in 1882.
US births per year · SSA card applications
Peaked at #30 in 1882; #647 in 2025. About 95% of babies named Sam in 2025 were boys.
Baby name · US data 1880–2025
#647 for US boys in 2025. Its best year was 1882, at #30.
Hover, tap or use the arrow keys for any year. Years with fewer than five babies of a sex are not published by SSA and show as zero.
Sam: US boys given the name each year from 1880 to 2025. 428 boys in 2025. Peak: #30 in 1882 · most boys in one year: 2,506 (1918).
In 2025, 428 US boys were named Sam, making it the 647th most common boys’ name of the year, up 3 places from #650 in 2024. That is 3 more than the 425 boys named Sam in 2024. Its best rank for boys was #30, reached in 1882. The most boys given the name in a single year was 2,506, in 1918. For comparison, it was #547 in 2015 and #207 in 1950.
Social Security card records list Sam in every one of the 146 years from 1880 to 2025; in 1880 there were 457 babies with the name. In all, 128,810 US babies have been given the name, 1.2% of them girls and 99% boys. Its busiest decade was the 1920s, with 21,107 babies named Sam.
Over the 10 years from 2016 to 2025, 4,390 US boys were named Sam; the busiest of those years was 2017, with 528. In 2025 that was about 1 in 3,991 of the boys in SSA’s list for the year.
Among the states, Sam ranked highest in Montana in 2025, at #223 for boys there. It was not in the top 100 of any state. Related spellings in the SSA files include Samuel (823,085 babies since 1880), Samantha (594,052 babies since 1880) and Sammy (45,140 babies since 1880). Rarer spellings such as Saim, Zaim and Saam are summarised on this page. The open nickname list we use links it to Sammy.
Meaning not yet researched.
We publish a meaning only with a cited source and a confidence label, and never generate one. Meanings are being researched for the most common names first.
Wikidata records this spelling as a given name in Dutch and English. That is where the name is used, not necessarily where it comes from.
Rare spellings summarised here: Saim (242), Zaim (222), Saam (82), Zam (33), Sahim (12), Saaim (11), Sahm (6), Saham (5).
Numbers are all-time US births. Links come from Wikidata’s “said to be the same as” (P460, CC0) and our spelling rule: at most two letters different, with the same sound pattern.
US boys. Rank within each state. SSA leaves out states where fewer than five boys got the name, so 22 are not listed.
| State | Births 2025 | Rank 2025 | Rank 2015 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Montana | 6 | #223 | — |
| Utah | 14 | #348 | #316 |
| New York | 48 | #374 | #315 |
| Massachusetts | 12 | #434 | #342 |
| Oregon | 9 | #434 | #540 |
| Nevada | 7 | #435 | #565 |
| Idaho | 5 | #480 | — |
| Michigan | 18 | #481 | #421 |
| New Jersey | 16 | #483 | #413 |
| Connecticut | 6 | #490 | #442 |
| Tennessee | 14 | #546 | #815 |
| California | 53 | #571 | #457 |
| Florida | 30 | #580 | #562 |
| Washington | 12 | #598 | #631 |
| Pennsylvania | 12 | #738 | #844 |
| Colorado | 7 | #743 | #514 |
| Texas | 37 | #745 | #650 |
| Alabama | 6 | #752 | — |
| Virginia | 9 | #785 | #576 |
| Oklahoma | 5 | #790 | #565 |
| North Carolina | 11 | #817 | #700 |
| Missouri | 6 | #855 | #810 |
| Illinois | 10 | #862 | #556 |
| Maryland | 5 | #902 | #520 |
| Minnesota | 5 | #912 | #466 |
| Arizona | 5 | #1,016 | #662 |
| Indiana | 5 | #1,053 | #883 |
| Georgia | 8 | #1,067 | #774 |
| Ohio | 6 | #1,239 | #724 |
Births and national rank for each year SSA lists the name, newest first.
| Year | Girls | Girls rank | Boys | Boys rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 24 | #5,370 | 428 | #647 |
| 2024 | 18 | #6,602 | 425 | #650 |
| 2023 | 11 | #9,498 | 403 | #676 |
| 2022 | 18 | #6,668 | 418 | #658 |
| 2021 | 19 | #6,376 | 412 | #659 |
| 2020 | 12 | #8,865 | 402 | #655 |
| 2019 | 14 | #8,072 | 443 | #618 |
| 2018 | 13 | #8,533 | 453 | #604 |
| 2017 | 12 | #9,254 | 528 | #537 |
| 2016 | 17 | #7,179 | 478 | #580 |
| 2015 | 12 | #9,393 | 523 | #547 |
| 2014 | 13 | #8,881 | 523 | #536 |
| 2013 | 14 | #8,504 | 480 | #553 |
| 2012 | 5 | #19,058 | 510 | #518 |
| 2011 | 14 | #8,548 | 546 | #481 |
| 2010 | 12 | #9,694 | 550 | #472 |
| 2009 | 15 | #8,384 | 582 | #469 |
| 2008 | 21 | #6,526 | 608 | #459 |
| 2007 | 9 | #12,474 | 615 | #452 |
| 2006 | 16 | #7,786 | 586 | #461 |
| 2005 | 12 | #9,347 | 557 | #460 |
| 2004 | 7 | #13,911 | 595 | #437 |
| 2003 | — | — | 577 | #436 |
| 2002 | — | — | 561 | #442 |
| 2001 | 10 | #9,957 | 554 | #438 |
| 2000 | 6 | #14,664 | 517 | #460 |
| 1999 | 6 | #14,080 | 498 | #460 |
| 1998 | — | — | 492 | #458 |
| 1997 | 5 | #15,634 | 484 | #458 |
| 1996 | 8 | #10,341 | 527 | #428 |
| 1995 | — | — | 569 | #404 |
| 1994 | — | — | 554 | #414 |
| 1993 | 12 | #7,380 | 561 | #415 |
| 1992 | — | — | 575 | #401 |
| 1991 | 7 | #11,237 | 591 | #384 |
| 1990 | 5 | #14,744 | 586 | #397 |
| 1989 | 5 | #14,035 | 503 | #415 |
| 1988 | 6 | #11,445 | 479 | #413 |
| 1987 | 6 | #10,971 | 483 | #393 |
| 1986 | 8 | #8,329 | 381 | #441 |
| 1985 | 11 | #6,360 | 348 | #461 |
| 1984 | 6 | #10,088 | 363 | #444 |
| 1983 | 11 | #6,136 | 360 | #434 |
| 1982 | 7 | #8,986 | 373 | #433 |
| 1981 | — | — | 384 | #426 |
| 1980 | 12 | #5,826 | 364 | #429 |
| 1979 | 7 | #8,775 | 374 | #410 |
| 1978 | 7 | #8,339 | 417 | #379 |
| 1977 | 5 | #10,896 | 357 | #418 |
| 1976 | — | — | 397 | #389 |
| 1975 | 9 | #6,344 | 421 | #376 |
| 1974 | 6 | #8,495 | 436 | #366 |
| 1973 | 6 | #8,192 | 476 | #351 |
| 1972 | 6 | #8,026 | 497 | #346 |
| 1971 | 10 | #5,443 | 541 | #341 |
| 1970 | 13 | #4,436 | 600 | #321 |
| 1969 | 8 | #5,861 | 583 | #318 |
| 1968 | 8 | #5,538 | 568 | #320 |
| 1967 | 11 | #4,247 | 607 | #299 |
| 1966 | 14 | #3,512 | 678 | #285 |
| 1965 | 16 | #3,238 | 774 | #267 |
| 1964 | 9 | #4,930 | 955 | #248 |
| 1963 | 9 | #4,834 | 1,017 | #236 |
| 1962 | 23 | #2,590 | 1,070 | #237 |
| 1961 | 17 | #3,163 | 1,194 | #229 |
| 1960 | 16 | #3,185 | 1,211 | #228 |
| 1959 | 13 | #3,590 | 1,298 | #214 |
| 1958 | 13 | #3,517 | 1,177 | #225 |
| 1957 | 10 | #4,159 | 1,069 | #232 |
| 1956 | 11 | #3,868 | 951 | #238 |
| 1955 | 11 | #3,749 | 874 | #239 |
| 1954 | 14 | #3,133 | 873 | #238 |
| 1953 | 12 | #3,442 | 880 | #229 |
| 1952 | 10 | #3,749 | 940 | #215 |
| 1951 | 15 | #2,791 | 1,034 | #201 |
| 1950 | 10 | #3,630 | 956 | #207 |
| 1949 | 8 | #4,181 | 1,104 | #188 |
| 1948 | 10 | #3,561 | 1,238 | #176 |
| 1947 | 8 | #4,286 | 1,416 | #169 |
| 1946 | 8 | #3,938 | 1,304 | #164 |
| 1945 | 7 | #3,966 | 1,137 | #161 |
| 1944 | 10 | #3,110 | 1,212 | #157 |
| 1943 | 15 | #2,432 | 1,322 | #153 |
| 1942 | 17 | #2,190 | 1,280 | #152 |
| 1941 | 12 | #2,647 | 1,191 | #150 |
| 1940 | 10 | #2,927 | 1,147 | #150 |
| 1939 | 9 | #3,111 | 1,121 | #145 |
| 1938 | 15 | #2,207 | 1,162 | #141 |
| 1937 | 13 | #2,433 | 1,213 | #132 |
| 1936 | 19 | #1,790 | 1,236 | #131 |
| 1935 | 10 | #2,901 | 1,364 | #126 |
| 1934 | 7 | #3,751 | 1,321 | #127 |
| 1933 | 18 | #1,894 | 1,351 | #121 |
| 1932 | 18 | #1,940 | 1,454 | #120 |
| 1931 | 20 | #1,795 | 1,460 | #118 |
| 1930 | 17 | #2,094 | 1,668 | #110 |
| 1929 | 30 | #1,414 | 1,730 | #105 |
| 1928 | 32 | #1,392 | 1,759 | #109 |
| 1927 | 23 | #1,818 | 1,904 | #102 |
| 1926 | 22 | #1,875 | 2,033 | #92 |
| 1925 | 25 | #1,738 | 2,092 | #91 |
| 1924 | 30 | #1,563 | 2,123 | #91 |
| 1923 | 24 | #1,775 | 2,204 | #89 |
| 1922 | 28 | #1,607 | 2,349 | #84 |
| 1921 | 26 | #1,718 | 2,367 | #85 |
| 1920 | 23 | #1,804 | 2,283 | #84 |
| 1919 | 36 | #1,295 | 2,384 | #75 |
| 1918 | 23 | #1,745 | 2,506 | #75 |
| 1917 | 14 | #2,408 | 2,454 | #72 |
| 1916 | 23 | #1,626 | 2,313 | #74 |
| 1915 | 27 | #1,395 | 2,339 | #68 |
| 1914 | 18 | #1,595 | 1,880 | #67 |
| 1913 | 23 | #1,170 | 1,527 | #65 |
| 1912 | 13 | #1,610 | 1,325 | #63 |
| 1911 | 6 | #2,422 | 928 | #47 |
| 1910 | 13 | #1,326 | 888 | #40 |
| 1909 | 8 | #1,740 | 700 | #44 |
| 1908 | 5 | #2,381 | 644 | #46 |
| 1907 | 8 | #1,622 | 631 | #43 |
| 1906 | 6 | #1,921 | 552 | #43 |
| 1905 | 8 | #1,518 | 620 | #39 |
| 1904 | 5 | #2,132 | 603 | #40 |
| 1903 | — | — | 552 | #41 |
| 1902 | 7 | #1,570 | 559 | #41 |
| 1901 | 7 | #1,447 | 479 | #41 |
| 1900 | 11 | #1,215 | 821 | #34 |
| 1899 | — | — | 469 | #44 |
| 1898 | — | — | 543 | #42 |
| 1897 | 5 | #1,765 | 478 | #45 |
| 1896 | — | — | 518 | #43 |
| 1895 | 5 | #1,777 | 487 | #43 |
| 1894 | 8 | #1,221 | 507 | #43 |
| 1893 | 7 | #1,269 | 481 | #43 |
| 1892 | — | — | 551 | #38 |
| 1891 | — | — | 418 | #43 |
| 1890 | 7 | #1,185 | 489 | #41 |
| 1889 | 6 | #1,255 | 486 | #40 |
| 1888 | 5 | #1,450 | 607 | #34 |
| 1887 | — | — | 463 | #39 |
| 1886 | — | — | 519 | #34 |
| 1885 | — | — | 492 | #35 |
| 1884 | — | — | 533 | #33 |
| 1883 | — | — | 476 | #33 |
| 1882 | — | — | 555 | #30 |
| 1881 | — | — | 481 | #32 |
| 1880 | — | — | 457 | #36 |
About the data: counts are Social Security card applications for US births, for names given to at least five babies of a sex in a year (SSA, names.zip, public domain). Ranks follow SSA’s own order: most births first, ties alphabetical. Files retrieved 2026-10-05 (checksum on our sources page).