ESC Name Rank Total Searching... No names found Try searching for: Emma, Liam, Olivia, Noah... 1880 First Year 2026 Last Year 1990 Peak Year #3 Peak Rank 595K Total Count 147 Years Active 🌍 ## Meaning & Origin of Samantha What this name means, where it came from, and how it has traveled across cultures. Samantha is an English feminine given name in use since the 17th century that is of uncertain derivation. It is now in popular use worldwide due to various popular culture influences. Source: [Wikipedia ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samantha) (CC BY-SA 3.0). [Read more → ](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samantha) 📜Etymology Some etymologists have suggested Samantha might be a derivative of Semanthe, a similar name likely invented by English playwright Sir John Suckling for a character in his play Aglaura , which was first staged in England in 1637\. Semanthe was later used by other English or Irish writers for characters in works of fiction published in the 17th and 18th centuries, including for a character in the 1682 tragic play The Loyal Brother by Irish dramatist Thomas Southerne , a character in the 1690 tragic play The Treacherous Brothers by English playwright George Powell , a character in the 1699 tragic [![Wikipedia thumbnail for Samantha](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/2/28/Elizabeth_Montgomery_Bewitched_%28cropped%29.jpg/330px-Elizabeth_Montgomery_Bewitched_%28cropped%29.jpg)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Samantha) 📖 ## The Story of Samantha Samantha first appeared in U.S. Social Security Administration records as a baby girl name in 1880, with 21 babies given the name that year. Its peak popularity came in 1990, when 25,868 Samanthas were born — ranking #5 that year. As of 2026, Samantha ranks #145 for baby girls with 2,081 births, falling sharply (-33%). In total, more than 595K Samanthas have been born in the U.S. since records began in 1880, spanning the 1880s through the 2020s. ## Popularity Over Time ## Popularity by State ME WA MT ND MN WI MI NY VT NH MA OR ID SD IA IL IN OH PA NJ CT RI CA NV WY NE MO KY WV VA MD DE DC UT CO KS AR TN NC SC AK AZ NM OK LA MS AL GA HI TX FL Top 10 11-50 51-100 101-500 500+ No data 🎶 ## Names that sound like Samantha Phonetically similar names — useful when Samantha is the vibe but a different syllable count or letter feel might suit better. Linked entries have a profile on Peek a Name. * Semana * [Samina](/samina) * [Simona](/simona) * Semina * [Samatha](/samatha) * [Samana](/samana) * Simoneau * Simoneaux * Cement * Summon * Summoned * Samoa Source: [Datamuse ](https://www.datamuse.com/api/). Phonetic similarity ranking, not curated. ❓ ## Frequently Asked Questions about Samantha What does the name Samantha mean? Samantha is an English feminine given name in use since the 17th century that is of uncertain derivation. It is now in popular use worldwide due to various popular culture influences. How popular is Samantha in 2026? In 2026, Samantha ranks #145 among girls' names in the U.S., with 2,081 babies given the name that year. When was Samantha most popular? Samantha reached its peak popularity in 1990, ranking #3 that year with 25,868 babies given the name. In which U.S. states is Samantha most popular? Samantha has historically been most popular in Arizona, Minnesota, New Jersey. Rankings vary year to year, but these states show the strongest concentration of births named Samantha. Is Samantha a unisex name? In U.S. Social Security records, Samantha is primarily a girl's name. We don't have meaningful data for it as a boy's name. What names go well with Samantha? Names that share a similar style or popularity range with Samantha include Elizabeth, Margaret, Sarah. These pairings are based on rank proximity and naming era in U.S. data. ## Similar Names [👧ElizabethPeak #3](/elizabeth)[👧MargaretPeak #3](/margaret)[👧SarahPeak #3](/sarah)[👧CharlottePeak #3](/charlotte)[👧RuthPeak #3](/ruth)[👧AmeliaPeak #3](/amelia)[👧AvaPeak #3](/ava)[👧KarenPeak #3](/karen) ## About the name Samantha Samantha is a girl baby name tracked by the U.S. Social Security Administration. It first appeared in SSA records in 1880 and has accumulated 595K births in the dataset. Samantha's peak popularity came in 1990 when it ranked #3\. Use the chart and map above to compare Samantha's trajectory across years and U.S. states, or browse the related names section to discover similar choices. ### Continue exploring * [ Top names of 1990 → ](/year/1990) * [ Names of the 1990s → ](/decade/1990s) * [ Names starting with "S" → ](/letter/s) * [ Browse all girl names → ](/names/girls) * [ Top names of 2026 → ](/year/2026) Data sources * Birth statistics (counts, ranks, years 1880–2026) — U.S. [Social Security Administration ](https://www.ssa.gov/oact/babynames/). Predictions for years not yet released by SSA are computed by Peek a Name from historical trends; we update with official data as soon as it ships. * Etymology, cultural origins, and related forms — [Behind the Name ](https://www.behindthename.com/) (used under their public API terms). * Meaning prose and editorial summary — [Wikipedia ](https://en.wikipedia.org/) article extracts, licensed under [CC BY-SA 3.0 ](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/). * Predicted nationality distribution — [Nationalize.io ](https://nationalize.io/). * Phonetically similar names — [Datamuse ](https://www.datamuse.com/api/). Peek a Name aggregates and presents the above data for informational purposes. Statistical predictions and external attributions are clearly labelled where shown; we make no guarantee of accuracy beyond what each source provides.