How Many People Are Named Samuel?
An estimated 635,282 people in the United States have the first name Samuel. While not in the top 50, it remains a well-known name ranking #59 overall. It is almost exclusively a male name. The average bearer is 34 years old, and Samuel peaked in popularity in 2001 with 14,845 births that year. It has a similar number of bearers to Amy (612,999).
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Samuel 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 Samuel paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Samuel is overwhelmingly male, 2,880 female births have been registered with this name since 1880.
Estimated Living Americans
635,282
About 1 in 540 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Very Common
Predicted Gender
Male
99.6% confidence
Average Age
34
years old
Peak Year
2001
14,845 births
Total Registered
814,600
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Samuel
Samuel is almost exclusively a male name. Out of 814,600 total births registered, 99.6% were male.
Samuel as a male name
Ranked #17 in 2024
8,310 male births in 2024
Peak: 2001 (14,813 births)
Samuel as a female name
Ranked #13,186 in 2024
7 female births in 2024
Peak: 1985 (64 births)
Samuel: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Samuel span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 2000s, when 138,883 babies were registered. While Samuel is less common than at its peak in the 2000s, it remains a well-established name with steady registrations.
Samuel by Decade
How has Samuel 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 | 9,129 | 9,129 | 0 | |
| 1890s | 7,873 | 7,857 | 16 | |
| 1900s | 8,173 | 8,149 | 24 | |
| 1910s | 34,264 | 34,166 | 98 | |
| 1920s | 43,599 | 43,362 | 237 | |
| 1930s | 32,325 | 32,135 | 190 | |
| 1940s | 43,320 | 43,127 | 193 | |
| 1950s | 53,984 | 53,766 | 218 | |
| 1960s | 44,515 | 44,250 | 265 | |
| 1970s | 48,466 | 48,103 | 363 | |
| 1980s | 73,979 | 73,460 | 519 | |
| 1990s | 125,901 | 125,592 | 309 | |
| 2000s | 138,883 | 138,622 | 261 | |
| 2010s | 108,243 | 108,101 | 142 | |
| 2020s | 41,946 | 41,901 | 45 | |
Samuel by State
Birth registrations for Samuel span all 51 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in California, Texas, New York. The lowest are in Wyoming, Vermont, North Dakota. On average, about 15,418 Samuels were registered per state.
Samuel + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Samuel as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Samuel
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
Samuel: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Samuel?
We estimate approximately 635,282 people named Samuel 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 540 Americans share this first name.
Is Samuel a common name?
Samuel is classified as "Very Common" and is more popular than 99.9% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 814,600 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Samuel most popular?
Samuel reached peak popularity in 2001, when 14,845 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Samuel is approximately 34 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Samuel a male name?
Samuel is predominantly male. 99.6% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Samuel Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Samuel Smith, Samuel Johnson, Samuel 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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