Samantha
Girl name · #151 in 2025 · Distinctive
Samantha ranks #151 among American girls' names as of 2025, with 1,973 newborns given the name that year. A decade ago it stood at #40, so the name has been falling over the past ten years. Roughly one in every 912 girls born in 2025 was named Samantha.
Babies named Samantha per year. Source: SSA.
The 145-year story
Samantha first appears in the Social Security records in 1880, when 21 girls received the name. Its peak came in 1990, when 25,868 girls were named Samantha — good for #5 that year. Today's parents encounter it on its way down the popularity curve, which for many parents is exactly the appeal. Following the curve matters more than today's snapshot: a name's position on its rise-peak-decline arc is the best predictor of how common it will feel in a kindergarten class five years from now.
Unlock the 5-year forecast and compare Samantha against up to 5 other names.
Uniqueness: will there be another Samantha in class?
On our rarity read — which blends how common Samantha is today with its five-year momentum — the name reads as "distinctive". That middle band is the sweet spot many parents hunt for: recognizable without being everywhere.
Where Samantha is most common
Geography matters for names, and Samantha is no exception. Adjusted for how many girls are born in each state, Samantha is most common in MD (2.6 per 1,000), CA (2.2 per 1,000), NE (2.1 per 1,000), NJ (2.1 per 1,000), NV (2.1 per 1,000) — against a national average of about 1.5 per 1,000 girls. These are per-capita rates, so they show where Samantha is a genuine regional favorite rather than just where the most babies are born.
Nicknames & related forms of Samantha
Samantha carries a whole family of nicknames and spellings — names that will feel like the same name in a classroom.
Counted as one name, the Samantha family went to about 1,998 girls in 2025 — together they'd rank around #147, versus #151 for Samantha alone.
Names like Samantha
Statistically, parents drawn to Samantha tend to be choosing among names with similar popularity arcs, era profiles, and sounds — the closest matches in our model are Alexandra, Jasmine, Katherine, Sabrina, and Victoria.
AlexandraJasmineKatherineSabrinaVictoriaKaylaBriannaAllison
Rank history (last 25 years)
| Year | Babies named Samantha | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 1,973 | #151 |
| 2024 | 2,232 | #126 |
| 2023 | 2,372 | #114 |
| 2022 | 2,605 | #106 |
| 2021 | 2,599 | #106 |
| 2020 | 2,956 | #90 |
| 2019 | 3,369 | #80 |
| 2018 | 3,924 | #61 |
| 2017 | 4,333 | #54 |
| 2016 | 4,956 | #44 |
| 2015 | 5,347 | #40 |
| 2014 | 5,735 | #33 |
| 2013 | 6,516 | #29 |
| 2012 | 6,938 | #26 |
| 2011 | 7,400 | #17 |
| 2010 | 8,411 | #15 |
| 2009 | 9,669 | #14 |
| 2008 | 11,190 | #11 |
| 2007 | 11,883 | #12 |
| 2006 | 12,470 | #10 |
| 2005 | 13,642 | #8 |
| 2004 | 13,786 | #9 |
| 2003 | 13,870 | #10 |
| 2002 | 14,671 | #9 |
| 2001 | 15,867 | #7 |
Frequently asked questions
Is Samantha a popular girl name?
Samantha ranked #151 among girls in 2025 with 1,973 babies given the name — inside the top 500: established but not ubiquitous. Ten years earlier it ranked #40.
When was the name Samantha most popular?
Samantha peaked in 1990, when 25,868 American girls received the name (ranked #5 that year). Since 1990 the name has declined from that high.
How rare is the name Samantha?
In 2025, roughly 1 in 912 newborn American girls was named Samantha. On our rarity scale (rarity blended with momentum) we classify it as "distinctive".
Data source: U.S. Social Security Administration name statistics, 1880–2025, national and state files. Counts reflect Social Security card applications; names with fewer than 5 occurrences in a state-year are suppressed by the SSA.