Masterpiece Generator Name Generator
How popular is the name Samuel?
Births per year, rank history and how many Samuels are alive today.
Samuel (male) is currently the 60th most popular boys' name in England and Wales, with 857 babies given the name in 2024. The name peaked in 1994, when around 7,600 babies were given the name, the 9th most popular that year. Samuel's popularity is double-peaked: popular in the early 1900s, having dropped out of the top 100 in between, and stronger still at its peak in the 2000s. Numbers have been falling in recent years. At least 120,000 babies have been named Samuel in England and Wales since 1904. Figures before 1996 are estimates. Common short forms of Samuel include Sami.
The Samuel you are most likely to meet is around 32 years old. Half of all Samuels born in England and Wales are between 20 and 37, and there are at least 190,000 of them alive today. If you walk into a room of 100 males, there's roughly a 47% chance that at least one of them will be called Samuel.
How many babies are named Samuel each year?
Where does Samuel 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 Samuel most popular?
Samuel peaked in 1994, when around 7,600 babies in England and Wales were given the name.
How many people are called Samuel?
At least 190,000 people named Samuel born in England and Wales are alive today.
How old is the typical Samuel?
Most living Samuels are between 20 and 37; the most common age is about 32.
Is Samuel becoming more or less popular?
Reviving: it has returned to the top 100 after time away.