first name
SAM
of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census
Of the 121,443 people named Sam, 69.6% reported their origin as White, 10.2% as Asian or Pacific Islander and 8.6% as Black. 91.9% are male. These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.
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Sam peaked in 1918, when 2,529 babies got the name.
At least 128,810 babies have been given the name since 1880. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.
Sam by decade
Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1880s, when it ranked #101. The largest share of babies named Sam, 32.4%, were born between 1901 and 1927, the Greatest Generation's birth years.
Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.
Where Sam is most common
Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Sam has been most common in Mississippi (3.5×), South Carolina (2.5×), and Alabama (2.3×), and least common in South Dakota (0.21×).
107,223 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.
Spelled almost the same
8 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Sam, most common first.
Also a last name
As a last name, Sam ranks #2,711 of 156,621, with 12,973 people. See Sam as a last name
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🔎 SAM 🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦⬜⬜⬜⬜ 1 in 2,487 Americans Rarer than 57% of us Peaked in 1918 with 2,529 babies Beat that 👇 https://howrareismy.name/first/sam/