Samantha
Turns up in colonial New England and is generally explained as a feminine name built on Samuel, Hebrew for God has heard, though its ending has no accepted source.
Samantha in 2025
Samantha was given to 1,973 babies in the United States in 2025, making it the 348th most popular name of the year. That is roughly one in every 1,680 babies born.
The history of Samantha
Samantha reached its highest point in 1990, when 25,926 babies were given the name, ranking 19th that year.
Across the 146 years of records since 1880, 594,052 babies have been named Samantha. Half of them were born before 1995, which places the name's centre of gravity with Millennials.
Samantha by decade
| Decade | Babies named Samantha | Best rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 159 | 737 |
| 1890s | 174 | 982 |
| 1900s | 135 | 1,125 |
| 1910s | 181 | 2,029 |
| 1920s | 186 | 2,890 |
| 1930s | 175 | 2,863 |
| 1940s | 292 | 2,393 |
| 1950s | 486 | 1,670 |
| 1960s | 11,051 | 264 |
| 1970s | 29,027 | 136 |
| 1980s | 121,578 | 20 |
| 1990s | 224,384 | 19 |
| 2000s | 134,497 | 29 |
| 2010s | 56,990 | 63 |
| 2020s | 14,737 | 221 |
Where Samantha is heading
Samantha has fallen 63% over the past decade, from 5,354 babies in 2015 to 1,973 in 2025.
Names like Samantha
Names that rose and fell at the same time as Samantha.