Popularity of the name Samuel, 1880–2025
Samuel was at its most popular in 1880, when 1,024 boys were given the name: about 1 in 110 boys born in the U.S. that year, ranking #17. In 2025, 8,334 boys were named Samuel, ranking #18. In all, Social Security counts 820,196 boys named Samuel since 1880. Social Security’s records also list 2,889 girls named Samuel. Its peak falls in the earliest years of the records, and counts from before about 1937 are incomplete, because many people born then never applied for a Social Security card.
- Peak year
- 1880
- Rank in 1880
- #17
- Babies in 1880
- 1,024
- Rank in 2025
- #18
- Total since 1880
- 820,196
Where it stands now
In the past decade the name climbed from #23 in 2015 to #18 in 2025: 10,905 boys got it in 2015, and 8,334 in 2025.
Decade by decade
Its best decade was the 1880s, when 9,129 boys were named Samuel, #17 for the decade. In the 2020s so far it ranks #19.
Every 20 years in the records: 1,024 in 1880 (#17), 877 in 1900 (#33), 4,654 in 1920 (#44), 3,364 in 1940 (#65), 4,711 in 1960 (#91), 6,014 in 1980 (#54), 14,188 in 2000 (#28) and 8,594 in 2020 (#25).
Highs and lows
The most boys given the name in a single year was 14,813, in 2001. That is not its peak year: Social Security’s records hold more boys for 2001 than for 1880, so the name’s share of births was smaller. Its best rank, #17, came in its peak year.
Every year
The table lists every year from 1880 to 2025 in which Social Security recorded at least 5 boys named Samuel, with the name’s rank that year.
| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880 | 1,024 | #17 |
| 1881 | 919 | #17 |
| 1882 | 1,003 | #17 |
| 1883 | 937 | #17 |
| 1884 | 945 | #17 |
| 1885 | 888 | #18 |
| 1886 | 870 | #18 |
| 1887 | 802 | #18 |
| 1888 | 931 | #18 |
| 1889 | 810 | #20 |
| 1890 | 815 | #20 |
| 1891 | 753 | #20 |
| 1892 | 902 | #20 |
| 1893 | 851 | #20 |
| 1894 | 776 | #26 |
| 1895 | 814 | #25 |
| 1896 | 734 | #31 |
| 1897 | 759 | #28 |
| 1898 | 749 | #32 |
| 1899 | 704 | #30 |
| 1900 | 877 | #33 |
| 1901 | 628 | #33 |
| 1902 | 702 | #33 |
| 1903 | 741 | #31 |
| 1904 | 727 | #34 |
| 1905 | 856 | #30 |
| 1906 | 783 | #33 |
| 1907 | 892 | #32 |
| 1908 | 960 | #33 |
| 1909 | 983 | #32 |
| 1910 | 1,129 | #32 |
| 1911 | 1,398 | #30 |
| 1912 | 2,602 | #30 |
| 1913 | 2,850 | #36 |
| 1914 | 3,703 | #35 |
| 1915 | 4,351 | #39 |
| 1916 | 4,399 | #41 |
| 1917 | 4,490 | #42 |
| 1918 | 4,772 | #43 |
| 1919 | 4,472 | #43 |
| 1920 | 4,654 | #44 |
| 1921 | 4,754 | #44 |
| 1922 | 4,600 | #43 |
| 1923 | 4,578 | #45 |
| 1924 | 4,591 | #45 |
| 1925 | 4,405 | #46 |
| 1926 | 4,180 | #48 |
| 1927 | 4,189 | #49 |
| 1928 | 3,844 | #52 |
| 1929 | 3,567 | #53 |
| 1930 | 3,531 | #55 |
| 1931 | 3,379 | #56 |
| 1932 | 3,411 | #56 |
| 1933 | 3,111 | #61 |
| 1934 | 3,137 | #66 |
| 1935 | 3,149 | #62 |
| 1936 | 2,893 | #67 |
| 1937 | 3,027 | #66 |
| 1938 | 3,243 | #62 |
| 1939 | 3,254 | #63 |
| 1940 | 3,364 | #65 |
| 1941 | 3,538 | #65 |
| 1942 | 4,190 | #59 |
| 1943 | 4,143 | #62 |
| 1944 | 3,946 | #62 |
| 1945 | 3,957 | #61 |
| 1946 | 4,523 | #70 |
| 1947 | 5,110 | #72 |
| 1948 | 5,002 | #70 |
| 1949 | 5,356 | #62 |
| 1950 | 5,227 | #62 |
| 1951 | 5,476 | #67 |
| 1952 | 5,647 | #67 |
| 1953 | 5,423 | #70 |
| 1954 | 5,634 | #71 |
| 1955 | 5,535 | #71 |
| 1956 | 5,585 | #74 |
| 1957 | 5,236 | #82 |
| 1958 | 5,051 | #85 |
| 1959 | 4,953 | #86 |
| 1960 | 4,711 | #91 |
| 1961 | 4,667 | #89 |
| 1962 | 4,552 | #88 |
| 1963 | 4,520 | #87 |
| 1964 | 4,462 | #86 |
| 1965 | 4,395 | #84 |
| 1966 | 4,155 | #81 |
| 1967 | 4,232 | #69 |
| 1968 | 4,123 | #66 |
| 1969 | 4,430 | #64 |
| 1970 | 4,558 | #62 |
| 1971 | 4,407 | #66 |
| 1972 | 4,213 | #66 |
| 1973 | 4,267 | #66 |
| 1974 | 4,672 | #60 |
| 1975 | 4,619 | #61 |
| 1976 | 5,025 | #59 |
| 1977 | 5,257 | #60 |
| 1978 | 5,394 | #57 |
| 1979 | 5,687 | #55 |
| 1980 | 6,014 | #54 |
| 1981 | 6,036 | #54 |
| 1982 | 6,014 | #56 |
| 1983 | 6,195 | #54 |
| 1984 | 6,362 | #55 |
| 1985 | 7,009 | #54 |
| 1986 | 7,579 | #52 |
| 1987 | 8,576 | #50 |
| 1988 | 9,564 | #45 |
| 1989 | 10,107 | #47 |
| 1990 | 10,894 | #45 |
| 1991 | 11,234 | #39 |
| 1992 | 11,344 | #40 |
| 1993 | 11,711 | #37 |
| 1994 | 12,147 | #33 |
| 1995 | 12,440 | #33 |
| 1996 | 13,629 | #30 |
| 1997 | 14,237 | #27 |
| 1998 | 13,912 | #28 |
| 1999 | 14,049 | #27 |
| 2000 | 14,188 | #28 |
| 2001 | 14,813 | #26 |
| 2002 | 14,579 | #25 |
| 2003 | 14,691 | #23 |
| 2004 | 14,131 | #23 |
| 2005 | 14,271 | #21 |
| 2006 | 13,652 | #25 |
| 2007 | 13,367 | #25 |
| 2008 | 12,774 | #27 |
| 2009 | 12,181 | #24 |
| 2010 | 11,971 | #24 |
| 2011 | 11,366 | #26 |
| 2012 | 11,470 | #25 |
| 2013 | 11,141 | #25 |
| 2014 | 11,029 | #23 |
| 2015 | 10,905 | #23 |
| 2016 | 10,621 | #21 |
| 2017 | 10,449 | #21 |
| 2018 | 9,854 | #21 |
| 2019 | 9,322 | #22 |
| 2020 | 8,594 | #25 |
| 2021 | 8,580 | #23 |
| 2022 | 8,427 | #19 |
| 2023 | 8,038 | #19 |
| 2024 | 8,355 | #17 |
| 2025 | 8,334 | #18 |
How these numbers are counted
Social Security publishes, for every year since 1880, how many babies of each sex were given each name, counting any name given to at least 5. A name’s rank is its place that year among names for the same sex, by number of babies. Names with the same count share a rank here, while Social Security’s own lists break ties alphabetically, so a rank can differ from theirs by a place or two. A name’s share is the number of babies given it divided by all babies of that sex in the data that year, and its peak is the year that share was highest. Shares rather than counts set the peak, because far more babies were born in some years than others: counting babies alone would pull nearly every name’s peak toward the 1946–1964 baby boom.
Source: the U.S. Social Security Administration’s national baby name data, from Social Security card applications for babies born in the U.S. A name is left out of a year when fewer than 5 babies of one sex got it, and counts before about 1937 are incomplete, because many people born then never applied for a card. See how Baby Boom builds its data. Figures may contain errors.