Masterpiece Generator Name Generator
How popular is the name Sam?
Births per year, rank history and how many Sams are alive today.
Sam (male), once a common boys' name, is now an uncommon choice for new babies in England and Wales, ranked 363rd in 2025 with 115 given the name. The name peaked in 1994, when around 2,300 babies were given the name, the 38th most popular that year. It has declined since 1994; the 2025 figure is roughly 5% of its peak. Numbers have been falling in recent years. At least 41,000 babies have been named Sam in England and Wales since 1984. Figures before 1996 are estimates.
The Sam you are most likely to meet is around 33 years old. Half of all Sams born in England and Wales are between 24 and 38, and there are at least 47,000 of them alive today. If you walk into a room of 100 males, there's roughly a 14% chance that at least one of them will be called Sam.
How many babies are named Sam each year?
Where does Sam rank among boys' names?
Where this data comes from
Figures from 1996 onwards are the Office for National Statistics' annual baby-name registrations for England and Wales, which record every name given to three or more babies in a year. Figures before 1996 are estimates: the ONS published only top-100 rankings at ten-year intervals back to 1904, so counts for those years are modelled from the rankings, calibrated against Douglas Galbi's long-run research into English name frequencies, and shown with an uncertainty band. Estimates of living bearers combine these birth figures with national life tables and ONS mid-year population estimates.
One limit worth naming: these figures count names as registered at birth. Anyone who changes their name later in life - including trans people, and anyone who adopts a different name by deed poll or simply by use - is not reflected here. Birth registrations record where a name began, not the name a person lives with.
Common questions
When was the name Sam most popular?
Sam peaked in 1994, when around 2,300 babies in England and Wales were given the name.
How many people are called Sam?
At least 47,000 people named Sam born in England and Wales are alive today.
How old is the typical Sam?
Most living Sams are between 24 and 38; the most common age is about 33.
Is Sam becoming more or less popular?
Declining: recent figures are a fraction of the 1994 peak.