How popular is the baby name Samantha 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 Samantha.

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Popularity of the baby name Samantha


Posts that mention the name Samantha

Popular baby names in Mexico, 2020

Flag of Mexico
Flag of Mexico

Two years ago, the country of Mexico welcomed 1,629,211 babies.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Sofia and Santiago.

Here are Mexico’s top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2020:

Girl names

  1. Sofia, 6,200 baby girls
  2. Maria Jose, 4,984
  3. Regina, 4,966
  4. Valentina, 4,905
  5. Camila, 4,688
  6. Ximena, 3,783
  7. Victoria, 3,654
  8. Renata, 3,417
  9. Maria Fernanda, 3,390
  10. Valeria, 3,272
  11. Natalia, 3,135
  12. Isabella, 2,997
  13. Romina, 2,934
  14. Daniela, 2,881
  15. Alexa, 2,490
  16. Ana Sofia, 2,406
  17. Andrea, 2,194
  18. Maria Guadalupe, 2,111
  19. Melissa, 2,093
  20. Fernanda, 2,075
  21. Samantha, 1,927
  22. Aitana, 1,910
  23. Elizabeth, 1,790
  24. Yamileth, 1,742
  25. Guadalupe, 1,720
  26. Mariana, 1,582
  27. Ana Victoria, 1,546
  28. Ana Paula, 1,517
  29. Fatima, 1,511
  30. Abigail, 1,480
  31. Emily, 1,459
  32. Julieta, 1,416
  33. Alejandra, 1,338
  34. Esmeralda, 1,311
  35. Vanessa, 1,289
  36. Estefania, 1,274
  37. Evelyn, 1,273
  38. Luciana, 1,252
  39. Jimena, 1,111
  40. Miranda, 1,058
  41. Lucia, 1,056
  42. Ivanna, 1,037
  43. Kimberly, 1,024
  44. Itzayana, 1,022
  45. Sofia Guadalupe, 1,020
  46. Carolina, 1,014
  47. Danna Sofia, 1,006
  48. Alondra, 961
  49. Aranza, 937
  50. Emma, 931

Boy names

  1. Santiago, 8,794 baby boys
  2. Mateo, 7,105
  3. Sebastian, 5,850
  4. Leonardo, 5,230
  5. Emiliano, 4,320
  6. Matias, 4,252
  7. Diego, 3,881
  8. Daniel, 3,747
  9. Miguel Angel, 3,571
  10. Alexander, 3,380
  11. Alejandro, 3,339
  12. Gael, 3,043
  13. Jesus, 3,021
  14. Angel, 2,637
  15. David, 2,551
  16. Emmanuel, 2,446
  17. Luis Angel, 2,417
  18. Rodrigo, 2,371
  19. Fernando, 2,359
  20. Maximiliano, 2,282
  21. Dylan, 2,258
  22. Jose Angel, 2,242
  23. Tadeo, 2,151
  24. Jose Luis, 2,139
  25. Gabriel, 2,016
  26. Eduardo, 2,012
  27. Juan Pablo, 1,972
  28. Rafael, 1,911
  29. Isaac, 1,845
  30. Samuel, 1,831
  31. Axel, 1,828
  32. Juan Carlos, 1,797
  33. Nicolas, 1,793
  34. Emilio, 1,792
  35. Jose Manuel, 1,683
  36. Damian, 1,658
  37. Leonel, 1,640
  38. Elias, 1,624
  39. Ricardo, 1,622
  40. Alexis, 1,618
  41. Adrian, 1,521
  42. Mauricio, 1,497
  43. Antonio, 1,481
  44. Alan, 1,480
  45. Jonathan, 1,477
  46. Francisco, 1,450
  47. Carlos, 1,432
  48. Angel Gabriel, 1,421
  49. Cristian, 1,404
  50. Javier, 1,402

The boys’ top 100 included Iker (57th), Uriel (61st), Saul (82nd), and Angel Gael (96th).

The girls’ top 100 included Samara (68th), Frida Sofia (75th), Estrella (85th), and Itzel (93rd).

And, a little father down on the girls’ list, we see Danna Paola (128th) and Amairani (292nd) — names associated with (and popularized by) the Mexican actresses Danna Paola and Amairani.

Source: Natalidad – INEGI

Image: Adapted from Flag of Mexico (public domain)

[Latest update: Aug. 2025]

Girl names on the decline in the U.S. in 2021

fallen leaves

Which girl names decreased in usage the most from 2020 to 2021?

Here’s a table of the fastest-falling girl names of 2021. On the left are the top 25 decreases in terms of absolute numbers of babies, and on the right are the top 25 decreases in terms of relative numbers of babies.

RankGirl nameAbsolute fallGirl nameRelative fall
1Isabella-957Ashvi-76%
2Abigail-936Dessa-75%
3Victoria-603Jaeda-73%
4Alexa-583Amavi-73%
5Sophia-540Yameli-73%
6Brooklyn-504Raela-72%
7Anna-452Reniyah-72%
8Gianna-435Naeema-72%
9Harper-433Avyn-72%
10Aubrey-409Portia-71%
11Ava-401Jadah-71%
12Hannah-400Rona-71%
13Kaylee-366Jocelynne-71%
14Samantha-361Iolana-71%
15Serenity-359Nakshatra-70%
16Emily-358Jatziry-69%
17Genesis-356Irish-69%
18Ella-354Inanna-69%
19Melanie-348Evangaline-69%
20Brielle-346Alula-69%
21Mila-330Rakeb-68%
22Lauren-312Kiaya-68%
23Skylar-303Meral*-67%
24Londyn-300Kemya*-67%
25Arianna-298Jeri*-67%

*Also at -67% were Helayna, Asmara, Arriyah, Anu, Akane, Kimberlin, Jojo, Elianni, Naleya and Leta.

Interestingly, Dessa has dropped before — it was the fastest-falling girl name way back in 1933.

And I don’t think anyone will be surprised about the ongoing decline of Alexa.

Finally, here are the girl names that saw the steepest dives right out of the data (i.e., to below 5 instances of usage) in 2021:

  • given to 20 babies in 2020: Geisha
  • given to 17 babies in 2020: Glorianna, Malai, Taleigha
  • given to 16 babies in 2020: Emili, Kalonni, Nyella, Siaani

Do you have thoughts/insights about any of the above names?

Source: SSA

Image: Adapted from Fall (6282684630) by Kenny Louie under CC BY 2.0.

Popular baby names in the Philippines, 2020

Flag of the Philippines
Flag of the Philippines

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, the most popular baby names in the country in 2020 were Althea and Jacob.

Here are the Philippines’ top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2020:

Girl Names

  1. Althea, 2,268 baby girls
  2. Angel, 1,436
  3. Samantha, 1,430
  4. Princess, 1,193
  5. Nathalie, 1,144
  6. Sofia, 1,130
  7. Sophia, 1,122
  8. Jasmine, 1,102
  9. Andrea, 1,063
  10. Angela, 1,048

Boy Names

  1. Jacob, 2,164 baby boys
  2. Nathaniel, 2,014
  3. Gabriel, 1,895
  4. Nathan, 1.613
  5. Ethan, 1,548
  6. Ezekiel, 1,418
  7. Angelo, 1,395
  8. James, 1,318
  9. Joshua, 1,170 (tie)
  10. Kyle, 1,170 (tie)
Covid-related baby names in the Philippines

The most fascinating part of the publication, though, was the “pandemic-related names” section. It highlighted the following names:

  • Covid: 355 Filipino babies got “Covid” as part of their name in 2020
  • Corona: 31 got “Corona” as part of their name
  • Quarantine: 6 got “Quarantine” as part of their name
  • Astra/Aztra
  • Zeneca/Seneca
  • Lockdown
  • Mask
  • Pandemica
  • Vaccine

In 2019 (and in 2018), the top two names in the Philippines were Althea and Nathaniel.

Source: The Philippines’ Most Common Baby Names of 2020 (PDF)

Top image: Adapted from Flag of the Philippines (public domain)

Where did the baby name Sayward come from in 1978?

The character Sayward from the TV miniseries "The Awakening Land" (1978).
Sayward from “The Awakening Land“

In 1978, the interesting name Sayward debuted as a girl name in the U.S. baby name data:

  • 1980: 26 baby girls named Sayward
  • 1979: 12 baby girls named Sayward
  • 1978: 22 baby girls named Sayward [debut]
  • 1977: unlisted
  • 1976: unlisted

Where did it come from?

A three-part TV miniseries called The Awakening Land, which aired on NBC in February of 1978. The miniseries chronicled the struggles of pioneer woman Sayward Luckett, who moved with her family to the unsettled Ohio Valley in the last years of the 1700s.

Sayward was played by played by Elizabeth Montgomery (who was playing Samantha on Bewitched a decade earlier). Montgomery was nominated for the Emmy for “Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series” for her portrayal of Sayward.

And Sayward wasn’t the only character with an interesting name. Her parents were Worth and Jary; her younger sisters were Genny, Achsa, and Sulie; her husband was Portius; her children included sons Resolve, Kinzie, and Chancey and daughters Huldah, Sulie, and Dezia.

The name Sulie, used for two different characters, also debuted in the data in 1978:

  • 1980: unlisted
  • 1979: 5 baby girls named Sulie
  • 1978: 5 baby girls named Sulie [debut]
  • 1977: unlisted
  • 1976: unlisted

And the name Chancey, used for Sayward’s youngest son, saw peak usage the same year:

  • 1980: 37 baby boys named Chancey
  • 1979: 24 baby boys named Chancey
  • 1978: 53 baby boys named Chancey [peak]
  • 1977: 17 baby boys named Chancey
  • 1976: 22 baby boys named Chancey

The story was originally a trilogy of books published in the 1940s and ’50s by Conrad Richter. The third book, called The Town, won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1951.

In the books, the Luckett family had one more child, a boy named Wyitt, and Sayward and Portius had a total of ten children (sons Resolve, Guerdon, Kinzie, and Chancey; daughters Sulie, Huldah, Libby, Sooth, Dezia, and Massey).

What are your thoughts on the baby name Sayward? (Or on any of the other names in the series?)

Source: The Awakening Land – IMDb