Baby name meaning

Samuel

God has heard · Hebrew origin

Meaning & origin

Samuel is a male name of Hebrew origin, meaning “God has heard”.

How popular is Samuel?

In England & Wales, Samuel ranked #60 among boys' names in 2024, with 857 babies given the name — down from #21 in 2014. Its strongest year in the England & Wales series is 2004, when it reached #6.

In the United States, Samuel was the #25 boys' name in the 2020 data, after peaking at #17 in 1880.

Samuel — popularity rank over timePopularity rank of the boys' name Samuel over time, lower rank number = more popular. England and Wales annual rank 1996 to 2024. United States rank sampled one year per decade, 1950 to 2020.#1#10#10019501960197019801990200020102024US 1950: #62US 1960: #91US 1970: #62US 1980: #54US 1990: #45US 2000: #28US 2010: #24US 2020: #25England & Wales 2024: #60United StatesEngland & Wales
Samuel’s popularity rank over time — England & Wales annual rank (solid) and United States rank sampled once per decade (dashed), #1 at the top. Log scale: each gridline is 10× the rank above it.
Samuel in England & Wales: rank and births in sampled years, plus its peak year. Source: ONS ‘Baby names in England and Wales’.
YearE&W rankBirths
1996#96,161
2000#85,800
2004#65,570
2005#75,219
2010#144,144
2015#232,705
2020#471,261
2024#60857

Famous Samuels

Names that go well with Samuel

Benjamin Abigail

More on Samuel

Hebrew for God has heard, Samuel is the steady, heartfelt classic that somehow never feels dated.

Samuel: the name that means God has heard — Samuel as our Name of the Day.

Swipe & match on Samuel in Settle