Male name
Samuel
109,273 births (England and Wales, 1996–2025), peaking in 1997. Expression number: 8.
Origin
From Latin Samuēl, from Ancient Greek Σαμουήλ (Samouḗl), from Biblical Hebrew שְׁמוּאֵל (šəmûʾēl, literally “'God has set' or 'God has placed'”). Taken to mean a contraction of popular folk etymology שְׁאִלְתִּיו מֵאֵל (“I have asked/borrowed him from God”) (Modern: Šəʾīltīv mēʾĒl, Tiberian: Šĭʾīltīw mēʾĒl) by way of שָׁאוּל מֵאֵל (“asked/borrowed from God”) from 1 Samuel 1:20.From Wiktionary, entry “Samuel”, text under CC BY-SA 4.0.
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How many babies received it
From the official birth registers.
In England and Wales
Peak in 1997: 6,367 births. 109,273 births from 1996 to 2025. A name given mostly in the 1990s, 2000s and 2010s. At its peak, it ranked 6th among boys' names in 2004. It is still given: 4,613 births from 2021 to 2025.
Source: Office for National Statistics, Baby names in England and Wales, Open Government Licence v3.0.
In the United States
Peak in 2001: 14,845 births. 823,085 births from 1880 to 2025. A name given steadily, decade after decade, from the 1980s to the 2020s. At its peak, it ranked 17th among boys' names in 1880. It is still given: 41,773 births from 2021 to 2025.
Source: Social Security Administration, Popular Baby Names, public domain.
In Ireland
Peak in 2009: 238 births. 5,815 births from 1964 to 2025. A name given mostly in the 1990s, 2000s, 2010s and 2020s. At its peak, it ranked 33rd among boys' names in 2013. It is still given: 412 births from 2021 to 2025.
Source: Central Statistics Office, Irish Babies' Names, CC BY 4.0.
Elsewhere in the world
The name in the birth records of the 10 countries we track. The period covered varies from country to country.
| Country | Births | Period | Best rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| France | 97,380 | 1900–2025 | 38th in 2018 |
| Quebec | 33,703 | 1980–2025 | 1st in 1996 |
| Argentina | 32,297 | 2012–2023 | 64th in 2021 |
| Switzerland | 18,977* | 1915–2025 | — |
| Austria | 10,158 | 1984–2025 | 18th in 2017 |
| Berlin | 1,429 | 2012–2023 | 33rd in 2012 |
| Belgium | 1,170 | 2014–2023 | — |
* These are the people living in the country, counted by year of birth, not the number of births.
Source: INSEE, Fichier des prénoms, Etalab Open Licence 2.0; Retraite Québec, Banque de prénoms, CC BY 4.0; RENAPER, Nombres propios en Argentina, CC BY 4.0 (the registry doesn't record sex); Federal Statistical Office, First names of the population by year of birth, free use with attribution; Statistik Austria, Vornamen, CC BY 4.0; Open Data Berlin, Häufige Vornamen, CC BY 3.0 DE (every name a child carries, not only the first); Statbel, first names of newborns, CC BY 4.0 (one total for the whole period, no yearly breakdown).
The numbers of the name
Each letter has a value: A = 1, B = 2… I = 9, then J = 1 again (Pythagorean method). We add them up, then reduce to a single digit, except 11, 22 and 33.
■ vowel · ■ consonant
Expression
All the letters: talents, the way you act.
8
power, achievement, your relationship with money
1 + 1 + 4 + 3 + 5 + 3 = 17 → 8
Soul
The vowels: what drives you deep down.
9
humanity, generosity, completion
1 + 3 + 5 = 9
Personality
The consonants: what others notice first.
8
power, achievement, your relationship with money
1 + 4 + 3 = 8
- Digits missing from the name
- 2, 6, 7, 8, 9
- Most frequent digit
- 1 · initiative, independence, beginnings
The meaning of the numbers comes from numerological tradition; it isn't a measure of your personality. A full portrait needs your first and middle names, your last name at birth, and your date of birth. How we calculate
Your name and theirs
The number of each name, and the number of the bond, which comes from adding them together. A symbolic game: what your two names say together, to be read as a metaphor, not as a verdict on your relationship.