NameTides

Sam

Sam was the #647 boys' name in the US in 2025 (428 babies), and #363 in England & Wales and #213 in Canada.

Sam as a boy’s name

  • US
  • England & Wales
  • Scotland
  • Northern Ireland
  • Ireland
  • Canada
  • NSW
  • VIC
Sam as a boy’s name, US, England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Canada, NSW, VICBabies per 1,000 in the published list, 1880–2025, for US, England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Canada. Gaps mark years with too few babies to be published.02.557.51018801900192019401960198020002020IrelandNorthern IrelandScotlandCanadaEngland & WalesUS
Sam as a boy’s name, US, England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Canada, NSW, VICBabies per 1,000 in the published list, 1880–2025, for US, England & Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland, Ireland, Canada. Gaps mark years with too few babies to be published.02.557.5101880192019602000
Babies per 1,000 of the same sex in each published list. New South Wales and Victoria publish their top 100 only, so they appear in the rank view and only in years the name made the top 100. Breaks in a line are years with too few babies to be published.
Show the numbers
YearUSEngland & WalesScotlandNorthern IrelandIrelandCanadaNSWVIC
2025#647 (428)#363 (115)#144 (31)#149 (15)#50 (106)#213 (163)——
2024#650 (425)#334 (131)#127 (38)#187 (11)#51 (105)#231 (144)——
2023#676 (403)#310 (142)#123 (41)#145 (16)#44 (129)#242 (130)——
2022#658 (418)#284 (158)#135 (39)#131 (19)#50 (125)#186 (186)——
2021#658 (412)#293 (161)#124 (44)#113 (25)#40 (161)#203 (182)——
2020#655 (402)#260 (181)#132 (41)#123 (22)#53 (117)#185 (191)——
2019#614 (443)#249 (197)#94 (64)#94 (32)#44 (155)#197 (193)——
2018#604 (453)#207 (261)#79 (80)#100 (27)#39 (183)#218 (166)——
2017#537 (528)#203 (263)#85 (70)#78 (39)#46 (165)#197 (195)——
2016#579 (478)#186 (300)#80 (84)#78 (43)#41 (190)#174 (216)——
2015#546 (523)#177 (330)#83 (83)#102 (29)#38 (190)#178 (210)——
2014#533 (523)#140 (405)#60 (110)#70 (45)#42 (195)#215 (172)——
2013#552 (480)#128 (465)#60 (115)#76 (41)#51 (166)#208 (174)——
2012#517 (510)#124 (522)#79 (90)#70 (47)#46 (183)#217 (162)——
2011#481 (546)#112 (579)#64 (123)#62 (57)#45 (196)#219 (156)—#92 (75)

The tide so far

  • Peaked in the US in 1900 at #34.
  • Holding steady over the last five years.
  • In the US records since the data begins in 1880.
  • In 2025, 5% of US babies named Sam were girls.

How common is it?

about 1 in 4,000 baby boys in the published US list for 2025.

In a group of 1,000 children born that year, you would expect to meet fewer than 1. How we work this out.

How common, country by country

WhereSexLatest yearShareVerdict
USBoys2025about 1 in 4,000uncommon
England & WalesBoys2025about 1 in 2,400uncommon
ScotlandBoys2025about 1 in 630common
Northern IrelandBoys2025about 1 in 550common
IrelandBoys2025about 1 in 220common
CanadaBoys2025about 1 in 980common

Next year

On its recent trend, Sam is likely to hold steady in the US in 2026: about 1 in 3,900 baby boys. Likely range 1 in 3,800 to 1 in 4,100.

Estimate, not an official figure. How we estimate.

Across the US

Sam by state, 2025Alaska: fewer than 5 babiesAKMaine: fewer than 5 babiesMEWisconsin: fewer than 5 babiesWIVermont: fewer than 5 babiesVTNew Hampshire: fewer than 5 babiesNHWashington: #576WAIdaho: #435IDMontana: #201MTNorth Dakota: fewer than 5 babiesNDMinnesota: #807MNIllinois: #805ILMichigan: #461MINew York: #367NYMassachusetts: #413MAOregon: #398ORNevada: #389NVWyoming: fewer than 5 babiesWYSouth Dakota: fewer than 5 babiesSDIowa: fewer than 5 babiesIAIndiana: #949INOhio: #1,111OHPennsylvania: #704PANew Jersey: #469NJConnecticut: #440CTRhode Island: fewer than 5 babiesRICalifornia: #565CAUtah: #327UTColorado: #680CONebraska: fewer than 5 babiesNEMissouri: #789MOKentucky: fewer than 5 babiesKYWest Virginia: fewer than 5 babiesWVVirginia: #727VAMaryland: #809MDDelaware: fewer than 5 babiesDEArizona: #927AZNew Mexico: fewer than 5 babiesNMKansas: fewer than 5 babiesKSArkansas: fewer than 5 babiesARTennessee: #520TNNorth Carolina: #775NCSouth Carolina: fewer than 5 babiesSCDistrict of Columbia: fewer than 5 babiesDCOklahoma: #698OKLouisiana: fewer than 5 babiesLAMississippi: fewer than 5 babiesMSAlabama: #685ALGeorgia: #990GAHawaii: fewer than 5 babiesHITexas: #730TXFlorida: #569FL
Sam (boys) rank in each state, 2025. Hatched states recorded fewer than 5 babies.
  • #1–10
  • #11–50
  • #51–100
  • #101–500
  • below #500

Across Canada

ProvinceYearRankBabies
Quebec2025#10963
Ontario2024#28348

Sam (boys): rank in each province’s latest list. Only Quebec and Ontario publish full name lists; Ontario’s latest list is a year behind.

Spellings

Official statistics count each spelling separately, so we show them side by side rather than adding them up.

SpellingWhereSexLatest rankBabies
SamCanadaGirls#1,21821
SamCanadaBoys#213163
SamEngland & WalesGirls—too few
SamEngland & WalesBoys#363115
SamIrelandGirls—too few
SamIrelandBoys#50106
SamNorthern IrelandGirls—too few
SamNorthern IrelandBoys#14915
SamNSWBoys—too few
SamScotlandGirls—too few
SamScotlandBoys#14431
SamUSGirls#5,23824
SamUSBoys#647428
SamVICBoys—too few