How popular is the baby name Samuel in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Samuel.

The graph will take a few moments to load. (Don't worry, it shouldn't take 9 months!) If it's taking too long, try reloading the page.


Popularity of the baby name Samuel


Posts that mention the name Samuel

Popular baby names in the French Pacific, 2023

Flag of French Polynesia
Flag of French Polynesia

Today we’ve got baby name rankings for two French overseas territories: French Polynesia and New Caledonia.

Both are island groups located in the Pacific Ocean, but they’re not neighbors: French Polynesia is in the southern Pacific, while New Caledonia is roughly 2,900 miles away in the southwestern Pacific (closer to Australia).

French Polynesia

French Polynesia is made up of about 130 islands. The majority of the population lives on the largest island, Tahiti.

French is the official language of the territory, though other languages (primarily Tahitian) are also spoken.

According to data gathered from three different medical clinics on Tahiti — data accounting for 3,145 births in 2023 — these were the top baby names on the island last year:

Girl names (on Tahiti)

  1. Kiana
  2. Ohana
  3. Merahi

Boy names (on Tahiti)

  1. Manea
  2. Hia’ai
  3. Kahanui

Other popular names included Hanihei, Kumuhei, Hitiarii, Kaili and Nanihi. (I’m not sure which genders they correspond to.)

The shortest names bestowed were Eva and Joa, while the longest were Onoheaiteraioehau (given to a baby girl) and Teahimenavaoatitoka (baby boy).

New Caledonia

New Caledonia is made up of about 140 islands. The majority of the population lives on the largest island, Grande Terre, which locals call Le Caillou, meaning “the pebble.”

French is the official language of the territory, but various Kanak languages are also spoken.

Last year, Nouméa — the territory’s capital and largest city — welcomed 499 baby girls and 563 baby boys. These were the top baby names in Nouméa in 2023:

Girl names (in Nouméa)

  1. Zoé
  2. Léna
  3. Eva
  4. Maya
  5. Olivia

Boy names (in Nouméa)

  1. Gabriel
  2. Samuel
  3. Emmanuel
  4. Joseph
  5. Kayden

New Caledonia’s rankings have a distinctly European flavor — no doubt because New Caledonia’s population includes a larger proportion of Europeans (and people of European descent) than French Polynesia’s does.

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Flag of French Polynesia (public domain)

Popular and unique baby names in Uruguay, 2022

Flag of Uruguay
Flag of Uruguay

The South American country of Uruguay doesn’t publish an annual list of top baby names per se, but Uruguay’s Dirección Nacional de Identificación Civil (DNIC) does release a list of all the names used among people who obtained their Uruguayan identity card for the first time within a given year.

As we saw in 2021 and 2020, the DNIC rankings combine all names (male and female) together on a single list, but don’t combine different forms of the same name (e.g., Maria and María) into single entries on that list. Most notably, the rankings account for not just first-name usage, but also second-name usage (as Uruguayans are allowed to include a maximum of two given names on their identity cards).

So now that we have all that out of the way… the DNIC data reveals that the most-registered names in the country in 2022 were María and Juan.

Here are Uruguay’s top 100+ registered names of 2022:

  1. María, 1,170 babies
  2. Juan, 1,138
  3. Maria, 1,108
  4. Isabella, 885
  5. Benjamín, 780
  6. Emma, 766
  7. Mateo, 728
  8. Valentina, 660
  9. Catalina, 659
  10. Luis, 648
  11. Alejandro, 647
  12. Martina, 640
  13. Felipe, 637
  14. Carlos, 589
  15. Valentín, 568
  16. Ezequiel, 562
  17. Emilia, 559
  18. Manuel, 556
  19. Daniel, 555
  20. Lorenzo, 550
  21. Julieta, 546
  22. José, 535
  23. Gabriel, 518
  24. Jose, 517
  25. Nicolás, 491
  26. Sofía, 486
  27. Ignacio, 455
  28. Alberto, 452
  29. Santiago, 450
  30. Francisco, 442
  31. David, 438
  32. Agustín, 435
  33. Olivia, 429
  34. Josefina, 422
  35. Valentino, 416
  36. Antonio, 410 (tie)
  37. Lucas, 410 (tie)
  38. Bautista, 405
  39. Delfina, 396
  40. Lautaro, 389
  41. Benjamin, 384
  42. Eduardo, 383
  43. Belén, 378
  44. Thiago, 372
  45. Gael, 371
  46. Santino, 370
  47. Victoria, 367
  48. Javier, 365
  49. Agustina, 363
  50. Jorge, 362
  51. Emiliano, 358
  52. Dante, 357
  53. Alexander, 351
  54. Tomás, 342
  55. Paulina, 335
  56. Miguel, 334
  57. Rafael, 329
  58. Ana, 324
  59. Joaquín, 320
  60. Samuel, 315
  61. Pablo, 313
  62. Sofia, 309
  63. Pilar, 308
  64. Diego, 307
  65. Zoe, 306
  66. Alfonsina, 300
  67. Renata, 297
  68. Clara, 278 (3-way tie)
  69. Liam, 278 (3-way tie)
  70. Sebastián, 278 (3-way tie)
  71. Milagros, 276
  72. Francesca, 271
  73. Fernando, 268
  74. Emily, 265
  75. Enrique, 262
  76. Facundo, 261
  77. Federico, 260 (tie)
  78. Pedro, 260 (tie)
  79. Angel, 258
  80. Bastian, 253
  81. Bruno, 252 (tie)
  82. Martín, 252 (tie)
  83. Alejandra, 251
  84. Carolina, 249 (tie)
  85. Noah, 249 (tie)
  86. Guadalupe, 246
  87. Nicolas, 243
  88. Vicente, 240
  89. Enzo, 235
  90. Salvador, 228
  91. Sebastian, 227
  92. Juana, 225
  93. Valentin, 222
  94. Guillermo, 220
  95. Alma, 218 (tie)
  96. Emanuel, 218 (tie)
  97. Nahuel, 215
  98. Camila, 211 (tie)
  99. Elena, 211 (tie)
  100. Andres, 210
  101. Andrés, 209 (3-way tie)
  102. Benicio, 209 (3-way tie)
  103. Paz, 209 (3-way tie)
  104. Gabriela, 208
  105. Beatriz, 207
  106. Ciro, 206 (tie)
  107. Martin, 206 (tie)
  108. Maite, 203
  109. Andrea, 202
  110. Elizabeth, 200 (tie)
  111. Laura, 200 (tie)
  112. Isabel, 199 (tie)
  113. Mia, 199 (tie)
  114. Luciano, 198
  115. Ismael, 197
  116. Jazmín, 195
  117. Camilo, 194
  118. Marcelo, 192
  119. Franco, 190
  120. Agustin, 189
  121. Alfonso, 187
  122. Aitana, 186 (tie)
  123. Bianca, 186 (tie)
  124. Ramiro, 185
  125. Gustavo, 184
  126. Cataleya, 183
  127. Roberto, 178
  128. Ariel, 176
  129. Lucía, 174
  130. Micaela, 173 (tie)
  131. Ricardo, 173 (tie)

(I went down this far to ensure that at least fifty girl names were included.)

Here are a few names from lower down on the list:

  • 80 babies were named Celeste, which is the nickname of Uruguay’s national soccer team.
    • Only 35 babies were named Celeste in 2020.
  • 73 babies were named Aylen, and roughly two hundred more were given a different spelling of the name (e.g., Ayelen, Aylén, Ayelén, Aylín, Aylin). This is a Mapuche name with several possible meanings, including “ember” and “clear.”
  • 38 babies were named Coromoto, which comes from a Marian title.
  • 15 babies were named Inti, which is the Quechua word for “sun.”
  • 9 babies were named Amaru, which is the Quechua word for “snake.”
  • 8 babies were named Borja, which comes from the name of Spanish saint Francisco de Borja.
  • 7 babies were named Irupé, which is the Guaraní word for the large South American water-lily Victoria cruziana.
  • 5 babies were named Yamandú, which was the name of a historical Guarani chief.
  • 4 babies were named Chiquinquira, which comes from a Marian title.
    • Two others were named Aurora de la Chiquinquira and Leomarys de la Chiquinquira.
  • 4 babies were named Itanú, which is a Charrúa name said to mean “heartbeat of stone.”
  • 3 babies were named Guidaí, which is the Charrúa word for “moon.”
  • 3 babies were named Tacuabé, which was the name of a historical Charrúa man.
    • Following the Massacre of Salsipuedes in 1831, Tacuabé and several other Charrúa prisoners were taken to France to be put on exhibition.
  • 2 babies were named Amancay, which is a Quechua word that refers to a lily-like South American flower.
  • 2 babies were named Amapola, which means “poppy” in Spanish.
  • 2 babies were named Atahualpa, which was the name of the last emperor of the Inca.
  • 2 babies were named Everton, which may refer to Everton F.C.
  • 2 babies were named Leunam, which is Manuel spelled backwards.
  • 2 babies were named Pérola, which means “pearl” in Portuguese.
  • 2 babies were named Uruguay.

And, because Uruguay releases all of its baby name data, we can also check out the unique names at the bottom of the list. Here’s a selection Uruguay’s single-use baby names of 2022:

Aluminé, Balquidia, Cubillas, Danubio, Elquin, Francival, Gigiola, Haaland, Ivonilton, Juysver, Kaique, Liviesti, Magaiver, Namastée, Oscarina, Patria, Quetzal, Riccieri, Silvilex, Tarantino, Urania, Valuzia, Winifer, Xaviera, Yitnelly, Zapicán

Some possible explanations/associations:

  • Aluminé – a town in Argentina
  • Cubillas – Peruvian soccer player Teófilo Cubillas
  • Dabubio – Uruguayan football club Danubio
  • Haaland – Norwegian soccer player Erling Haaland
    • This one debuted in the U.S. data in 2021.
  • Magaiver – TV character MacGyver
  • Riccieri – a denim brand based in Brazil
  • Tarantino – American film director Quentin Tarantino
  • Zapicán – a village in Uruguay

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Flag of Uruguay (public domain)

Popular baby names in Boston (Massachusetts), 2023

Flag of Massachusetts
Flag of Massachusetts

Last year, the City of Boston welcomed a total of 20,645 babies.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Olivia and Liam.

Here are Boston’s top 20 girl names and top 20 boy names of 2023:

Girl names

  1. Olivia
  2. Emma
  3. Sophia
  4. Charlotte
  5. Sofia
  6. Isabella
  7. Grace
  8. Chloe
  9. Amelia
  10. Maya
  11. Luna
  12. Gianna
  13. Mia
  14. Nora
  15. Ava
  16. Natalie
  17. Ella
  18. Emilia
  19. Maeve
  20. Eleanor

Boy names

  1. Liam
  2. Noah
  3. Henry
  4. Leo
  5. Theodore
  6. Jack
  7. Julian
  8. James
  9. Thomas
  10. Benjamin
  11. William
  12. Luca
  13. John
  14. Ethan
  15. Logan
  16. Aiden
  17. Charles
  18. Samuel
  19. Joseph
  20. Oliver

Thomas caught my eye — it’s a top-10 boy name in Boston, but (in 2022) it only managed to rank 22nd state-wide and 45th country-wide.

Massachusetts’ top baby names of 2023 won’t be revealed until May, when the new SSA data comes out, but the state’s #1 names in 2022 were Olivia and Noah. (Noah won by a wide margin, in fact. It was given to 142 more baby boys than second-place Liam.)

Sources: Most Popular Baby Names in Boston, SSA

Image: Adapted from Flag of Massachusetts (public domain)

Popular baby names in Spain, 2022

Flag of Spain
Flag of Spain

The country of Spain, which makes up most of Europe’s Iberian Peninsula, shares land borders with France, Andorra, and Portugal.

Last year, Spain welcomed 159,649 baby girls and 169,602 baby boys.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Lucia and Martin (again).

Here are Spain’s top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2022:

Girl Names

  1. Lucia, 3,539 baby girls
  2. Sofia, 2,899
  3. Martina, 2,651
  4. Valeria, 2,580
  5. Maria, 2,443
  6. Julia, 2,240
  7. Paula, 1,912
  8. Emma, 1,864
  9. Olivia, 1,862
  10. Daniela, 1,661
  11. Carla, 1,655
  12. Alma, 1,619
  13. Mia, 1,614
  14. Carmen, 1,613
  15. Vega, 1,544
  16. Lola, 1,542
  17. Lara, 1,537
  18. Sara, 1,453
  19. Alba, 1,440
  20. Jimena, 1,410
  21. Noa, 1,397
  22. Chloe, 1,391
  23. Valentina, 1,365
  24. Claudia, 1,272
  25. Aitana, 1,110
  26. Ana, 1,042 (tie)
  27. Gala, 1,042 (tie)
  28. Vera, 1,029
  29. Abril, 1,028
  30. Alejandra, 1,024
  31. Triana, 997
  32. Manuela, 985
  33. Candela, 974
  34. Laia, 970
  35. Zoe, 908
  36. Ines, 901
  37. Adriana, 895
  38. Victoria, 873
  39. Elena, 868
  40. Blanca, 859
  41. Marina, 839
  42. Carlota, 798
  43. Marta, 708
  44. Clara, 705
  45. Luna, 703
  46. Nora, 699
  47. Lia, 683
  48. Rocio, 676
  49. Ariadna, 641
  50. Irene, 618

Boy Names

  1. Martin, 3,224 baby boys
  2. Mateo, 3,132
  3. Hugo, 3,074
  4. Leo, 2,752
  5. Lucas, 2,537
  6. Manuel, 2,491
  7. Alejandro, 2,281
  8. Pablo, 2,238
  9. Daniel, 2,237
  10. Alvaro, 1,938
  11. Enzo, 1,838
  12. Adrian, 1,683
  13. Luca, 1,677
  14. Diego, 1,540
  15. Thiago, 1,529
  16. Mario, 1,497
  17. Bruno, 1,471
  18. David, 1,389
  19. Oliver, 1,380
  20. Alex, 1,317
  21. Marcos, 1,274
  22. Gonzalo, 1,272
  23. Liam, 1,256
  24. Marco, 1,230
  25. Miguel, 1,226
  26. Izan, 1,220
  27. Antonio, 1,188
  28. Javier, 1,151
  29. Nicolas, 1,150
  30. Gael, 1,109
  31. Marc, 1,040
  32. Juan, 1,036
  33. Dario, 1,009
  34. Angel, 988
  35. Carlos, 977
  36. Jose, 956
  37. Gabriel, 945
  38. Dylan, 883
  39. Rodrigo, 865
  40. Adam, 796
  41. Samuel, 791
  42. Jorge, 775
  43. Jaime, 752
  44. Eric, 741 (tie)
  45. Sergio, 741 (tie)
  46. Pau, 685
  47. Guillermo, 684
  48. Francisco, 674
  49. Hector, 668
  50. Noah, 651

Home to more than 47 million people, Spain is divided into 17 autonomous communities (including two island groups) and two autonomous cities (both in North Africa).

Map of the 17 autonomous communities of Spain
Spain’s 17 autonomous communities

The most popular baby names within each of Spain’s 17 autonomous communities last year were…

Top Girl NameTop Boy Name
Andalusia
(17.8% of the population)
MariaManuel
Catalonia
(16.4% of pop.)
JuliaLeo
Madrid (community)
(14.3% of pop.)
LuciaMateo
Valencia (community)
(10.9% of pop.)
LuciaMateo
Galicia
(5.6% of pop.)
NoaMartin
Castile and León
(5.0% of pop.)
LuciaMartin
Basque Country
(4.6% of pop.)
AneMartin
Canary Islands
(4.6% of pop.)
ValeriaMateo
Castilla-La Mancha
(4.3% of pop.)
Lucia & Valeria (tie)Hugo
Murcia
(3.2% of pop.)
LuciaHugo
Aragon
(2.8% of pop.)
LuciaMartin
Balearic Islands
(2.5% of pop.)
MartinaMarc
Extremadura
(2.2% of pop.)
LuciaManuel
Asturias
(2.1% of pop.)
SofiaMartin
Navarre
(1.4% of pop.)
LuciaMateo
Cantabria
(1.2% of pop.)
LuciaMartin & Mateo (tie)
La Rioja
(0.7% of pop.)
LuciaMateo

And the #1 baby names within each of Spain’s two autonomous cities were…

Top Girl NameTop Boy Name
Melilla
(0.2% of pop.)
SaraMohamed & Rayan (tie)
Ceuta
(0.2% of pop.)
MariamMohamed

Finally, here’s a link to Spain’s 2021 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

Sources: Apellidos y nombres más frecuentes – INEbase, Estadística de nacimientos – INEbase, Population of Spain in 2023 by autonomous community – Statista, Spain – Wikipedia

Image: Adapted from Flag of Spain (public domain)
Map: Adapted from Autonomous communities of Spain no names by Habbit under CC BY-SA 3.0.