How Many People Are Named Sam?
An estimated 52,108 people in the United States have the first name Sam. It is predominantly male (98.8%). The average bearer is 51 years old, and Sam peaked in popularity in 1918 with 2,528 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Sam as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Sam paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Sam is overwhelmingly male, 1,552 female births have been registered with this name since 1880.
Estimated Living Americans
52,108
About 1 in 6,578 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Male
98.8% confidence
Average Age
51
years old
Peak Year
1918
2,528 births
Total Registered
128,347
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Sam
Sam is predominantly male (98.8%), though 1,552 female births have been registered. It functions as a unisex name for a small percentage of bearers.
Sam as a male name
Ranked #651 in 2024
423 male births in 2024
Peak: 1918 (2,505 births)
Sam as a female name
Ranked #6,572 in 2024
18 female births in 2024
Peak: 1919 (36 births)
Sam: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Sam span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1920s, when 21,107 babies were registered. Sam has declined significantly from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Sam by Decade
How has Sam tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 5,080 | 5,069 | 11 | |
| 1890s | 4,973 | 4,941 | 32 | |
| 1900s | 6,226 | 6,161 | 65 | |
| 1910s | 18,740 | 18,544 | 196 | |
| 1920s | 21,107 | 20,844 | 263 | |
| 1930s | 13,496 | 13,350 | 146 | |
| 1940s | 12,456 | 12,351 | 105 | |
| 1950s | 10,171 | 10,052 | 119 | |
| 1960s | 8,783 | 8,652 | 131 | |
| 1970s | 4,586 | 4,517 | 69 | |
| 1980s | 4,112 | 4,040 | 72 | |
| 1990s | 5,480 | 5,437 | 43 | |
| 2000s | 5,844 | 5,748 | 96 | |
| 2010s | 5,157 | 5,031 | 126 | |
| 2020s | 2,136 | 2,058 | 78 | |
Sam by State
Birth registrations for Sam span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in New York, Texas, California. The lowest are in Delaware, Vermont, Rhode Island. On average, about 2,095 Sams were registered per state.
Sam + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Sam as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Sam
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
Sam: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sam?
We estimate approximately 52,108 people named Sam are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 6,578 Americans share this first name.
Is Sam a common name?
Sam is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 99.2% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 128,347 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Sam most popular?
Sam reached peak popularity in 1918, when 2,528 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Sam is approximately 51 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Sam a male name?
Sam is predominantly male. 98.8% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Sam Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Sam Smith, Sam Johnson, Sam Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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