Samuel means "God heard" or "name of God," and is a Hebrew name from the Bible. The story goes that Samuel's mother, a woman named Hannah, was struggling to conceive. She prayed in the temple for God to give her a child, and a priest overheard. He told her that her prayer would be answered but that her son must be given to the temple in service of God once he was weaned.
Samuel would become a prophet who played a major role in the Old Testament of the Bible, selecting Saul as the first king of Israel and anointing David as king in Saul's place. This is perhaps the oldest account of this given name.
In ancient history, Samuel is a name that was given to an emperor of the First Bulgarian Empire who ruled from 997 to 1014 A.D., the third king of Hungary who ruled in the 2nd century, and Samuel of Nehardea, an important teacher in ancient Judaism. In American history, Samuel was the name of the founding father Samuel Adams and the author Samuel Clemons, better known by his pen name Mark Twain.
It probably isn't surprising, then, to learn this name has earned popularity around the world. It is prevalent in most English-speaking countries and throughout Europe and Africa. Since it's used around the world, pronunciations vary, including "sam-yoo-ehl," "sam-yehl," and "sam-mwehl." The most common nicknames are Sam and Sammy.
Samuel is a name that has come to be associated with innovative and creative thinkers, leaders, and trailblazers thanks to the long line of authors, inventors, kings, and founding fathers who have shared this name.
Samuel has been a top 100 baby name in the United States since at least 1900, according to the Social Security Administration. It has fluctuated some in the past century, but never dipped below number 91, and peaked at number 21 in 2018, proving that the name has staying power even in modern times.
BabyCenter parents have consistently chosen Samuel for their baby boys as well. Based on data from hundreds of thousands of parents who have shared their baby's name with us, Samuel is a top-50 baby boy's name.
Samuel is typically a boy's name, though there are a few girls born in the United States each year who are named Samuel or Sam. Samantha may be a feminine variant of Samuel.
With a history that's thousands of years old, Samuel has established itself as a baby boy's name that is isn't disappearing anytime soon.
