Samuel

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 14 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Samuel is also recorded as 8 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• English given name6.9M records spelled Samuel172 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, France, Brazil, United Kingdom

  Languages: English, French, German

  Also written Samuël, Სამუელ, Samueel, Samuél, Samu'El

• Akan given name968K records spelled Samuel14 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Ghana, Kenya, Nigeria, United States

  Languages: Akan, Swahili, Southern Sotho

  Also written Samuël, Sàmuel

• a separate given name184K records spelled Samuel12 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, India, Ecuador, Ethiopia

  Also written Samu'El, Samuël, Sāmuēl, Sāmū'Ēl, Samuēl

• Czech given name154K records spelled Samuel42 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Czechia, Poland, Slovakia, United States

  Languages: Czech, Polish, Slovak

  Also written Самуел, Sámuel, Šamuel, Šämüël, Šámūél

• Finnish given name111K records spelled Samuel11 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Finland, United States, Sweden, Estonia

  Languages: Finnish, Estonian

  Also written Samuël, Såmüêl, Sámuel, Sämuel, Samùel

• Indonesian given name58K records spelled Samuel4 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Indonesia, United States, Nigeria, Philippines

  Languages: Indonesian, Malay

  Also written 'Samuel, Samuel'

• German given name15K records spelled Samuel66 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Italy, Laos, United States, Thailand

  Languages: German, Italian, Lao

  Also written Samuele, ซามูเอล, แซมมวล, Samuen, Samuèle

• a separate given name14K records spelled Samuel11 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Norway, Peru, United Kingdom

  Also written Sämüël, Samùel, Såmüęl, Såmuel, Sämûél

127 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Samuel is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• The name Samuel is commonly understood to mean 'heard of God' or 'asked of God', derived from a wordplay in 1 Samuel 1:20 where his mother Hannah says, "Because I have asked for him from the LORD." An alternative scholarly etymology suggests the meaning 'his name is El (God)'.

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

• The name Samuel, of Hebrew origin, means 'heard by God' or 'asked of God.' It belongs to one of the most revered prophets in the Old Testament, known for his wisdom, integrity, and devotion. It is a timeless and classic name signifying a special connection to the divine.

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

• Samuel represents the ideal of total obedience to God ('Speak, for your servant is listening') and the power of intercessory prayer. He bridges the era of the Judges and the Monarchy, establishing the role of the prophet as the conscience of the king.

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

• The name Samuel (Shemuel) is generally interpreted as 'Name of God' (Shem-El) or 'Heard of God' (Shama-El). The biblical narrative in 1 Samuel 1:20 links it to the phrase 'I have asked him of the Lord,' playing on the Hebrew root 'sha'al' (to ask).

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

• Samuel represents the ideal of faithful obedience to God's voice ('Speak, for your servant is listening') and the power of intercessory prayer. He embodies the prophetic office that holds secular rulers accountable to divine law.

  as a name·Biblical Names Compiled Database

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 146 years between 1880–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Samuel Johnsonb. 1709GBEnglish writer and lexicographer (1709–1784)
• Samuel Hahnemannb. 1755DEGerman physician known for creating homeopathy
• Sam Houstonb. 1793USnot in their usual nameAmerican statesman, politician, and soldier (1793-1863)
• Samuel Coltb. 1814US19th-century American industrialist and inventor (1814–1862)
• Thomas Kuhnb. 1922USnot in their usual nameAmerican historian, physicist and philosopher (1922 – 1996)
• Samuel Huntingtonb. 1927USAmerican political scientist (1927–2008)
• Samuel L. Jacksonb. 1948USAmerican actor (born 1948)
• Samuel Alitob. 1950USAssociate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States since 2006
• Sam Mendesb. 1965GBnot in their usual nameBritish stage and film director (born 1965)
• Samuel Eto'ob. 1981CMCameroonian association football player

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 2,519 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Samuel?

We estimate roughly 1.3 million people bear Samuel (counting its spellings and scripts) across 14 countries in our records.

In which country does Samuel have the most bearers?

We estimate about 565 thousand people bear Samuel in the United States, more than in any other country in our records, where it is most often spelled samuel.

Where is Samuel most common?

Measured as a share of residents rather than as a count, Samuel is densest in Finland — about 1 in 257 people — even though United States holds more of our records for it.

How common is Samuel compared with other names?

In the United States, Samuel is the 883rd most common given name of 3,122,706 given names recorded there.

Is Samuel a male or female name?

Samuel is a male name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Samuel mean?

Recorded meaning: From the biblical male personal name Samuel, from Hebrew Shemuel, literally ‘name of god’.