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.

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Popularity of the baby name Samuel


Posts that mention the name Samuel

Popular baby names in Brazil, 2025

Flag of Brazil
Flag of Brazil

Brazil, the largest and most populous country in South America, welcomes well over 2,000,000 babies every year.

What were the most popular names among last year’s babies specifically? Helena and Ravi, according to data released in mid-December by Arpen-Brasil.

Here are Brazil’s projected top 10 girl names and top 10 boy names of 2025:

Girl names

  1. Helena, 28,271 baby girls
  2. Maitê, 20,677
  3. Cecilia, 20,378
  4. Maria Cecília, 16,889
  5. Aurora, 16,506
  6. Alice, 14,777
  7. Laura, 14,487
  8. Antonella, 10,436
  9. Isis, 10,378
  10. Heloísa, 9,703

Boy names

  1. Ravi, 21,982 baby boys
  2. Miguel, 21,654
  3. Heitor, 17,751
  4. Arthur, 17,514
  5. Theo, 16,766
  6. Gael, 16,201
  7. Bernardo, 15,395
  8. David, 14,425
  9. Noah, 14,182
  10. Samuel, 14,021

Ravi — which replaced Miguel as the country’s No. 1 boy name — has been used by several high-profile Brazilian content creators recently. Influencers Vitória di Felice Moraes (a.k.a., Viih Tube) and Eliezer do Carmo welcomed a son named Ravi in November of 2024, for instance.

I haven’t posted about Brazil’s top baby names in the last few years, but here are the rankings for 2021. (Ravi wasn’t even in the top ten yet at that point!)

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Flag of Brazil (public domain)

How did Lyndon B. Johnson influence baby names?

American politician Lyndon B. Johnson (1908-1973)
Lyndon B. Johnson

Texas-born politician Lyndon B. Johnson, who served as president of the United States from late 1963 to early 1969, influenced the popularity of the baby name Lyndon several times over the course of his life.

In 1941, the year he narrowly lost a U.S. Senate special election in Texas, the name Lyndon nearly doubled in usage:

Boys named Lyndon (U.S.)Boys named Lyndon (TX)
1943102 (rank: 632nd)21
194278 (rank: 729th)22
194190 (rank: 645th)43
194046 (rank: 947th)8
193941 (rank: 1,000th)6

As you’d expect, most of that extra usage happened in the state of Texas.

In 1948, on his second try, Johnson narrowly won a seat in the U.S. Senate. (The unique first name of his opponent, Coke R. Stevenson, made its last appearance in the U.S. baby name data the same year.)

More than a decade later, when Senator Johnson was elected vice president as John F. Kennedy‘s running mate, the name saw another uptick:

  • 1962: 148 baby boys named Lyndon (rank: 635th)
  • 1961: 207 baby boys named Lyndon (rank: 548th)
  • 1960: 246 baby boys named Lyndon (rank: 506th)
  • 1959: 193 baby boys named Lyndon (rank: 559th)
  • 1958: 161 baby boys named Lyndon (rank: 606th)

Finally, in 1964, the name shot to peak popularity:

  • 1966: 161 baby boys named Lyndon (rank: 592nd)
  • 1965: 306 baby boys named Lyndon (rank: 444th)
  • 1964: 514 baby boys named Lyndon (rank: 347th)
  • 1963: 176 baby boys named Lyndon (rank: 594th)
  • 1962: 148 baby boys named Lyndon (rank: 635th)

Here’s a visual:

Graph of the usage of the baby name Lyndon in the U.S. since 1880
Usage of the baby name Lyndon

This considerable increase in usage can be attributed to a pair of related events: Johnson assuming the presidency upon the assassination of Kennedy in November of 1963, and Johnson’s landslide victory in the presidential election of 1964.

Lyndon B. Johnson taking the oath of office following the assassination of President Kennedy (Nov. 1963)
Lyndon B. Johnson taking the oath of office

Lyndon Baines Johnson was born to Samuel Ealy Johnson, Jr., and Rebekah Johnson (née Baines) in 1908. Where did his first name come from? Here’s how he told the story:

I was three months old when I was named. My mother and father couldn’t agree on a name. The people my father liked were heavy drinkers — pretty rough for a city girl. She didn’t want me named after any of them.

Finally, there was a criminal lawyer — a county lawyer — named W. C. Linden. He would go on a drunk for a week after every case. My father liked him, and he wanted to name me after him. My mother didn’t care for the idea, but she said finally that it was all right; she would go along with it if she could spell the name the way she wanted to. So that was what happened.

Johnson’s two daughters, Lynda and Luci, were both married during their father’s presidency. The younger one, Luci, married in August of 1966 and the older one, Lynda, married in December of 1967. (Luci had a flower girl named Bader; Lynda had a bridesmaid called Trenny.)

What are your thoughts on the name Lyndon? (What spelling do you prefer?)

Sources:

Images: Adapted from Lyndon B. Johnson, photo portrait, leaning on chair, color and Lyndon B. Johnson taking the oath of office (both public domain)

Popular and unique baby names in Alberta (Canada), 2024

Flag of Alberta
Flag of Alberta

Last year, the Canadian province of Alberta welcomed more than 50,000 babies.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Olivia and Noah, for the sixth year in a row.

Here are Alberta’s top 50+ girl names and top 50+ boy names of 2024:

Girl names

  1. Olivia, 184 baby girls
  2. Charlotte, 164
  3. Amelia, 150
  4. Sophia, 146
  5. Emma, 145
  6. Ava, 120
  7. Harper, 115 (tie)
  8. Isla, 115 (tie)
  9. Hazel, 104 (tie)
  10. Sophie, 104 (tie)
  11. Ellie, 102 (3-way tie)
  12. Evelyn, 102 (3-way tie)
  13. Lily, 102 (3-way tie)
  14. Abigail, 98 (tie)
  15. Aurora, 98 (tie)
  16. Nora, 96
  17. Mia, 95
  18. Isabella, 90
  19. Ella, 88 (tie)
  20. Violet, 88 (tie)
  21. Elizabeth, 86
  22. Sofia, 85
  23. Chloe, 83 (tie)
  24. Scarlett, 83 (tie)
  25. Aria, 80 (tie)
  26. Emily, 80 (tie)
  27. Eleanor, 79
  28. Hannah, 76
  29. Hailey, 75 (tie)
  30. Ivy, 75 (tie)
  31. Mila, 73
  32. Grace, 72
  33. Luna, 70
  34. Maya, 69
  35. Georgia, 68 (tie)
  36. Maeve, 68 (tie)
  37. Lainey, 67
  38. Anna, 66 (tie)
  39. Eliana, 66 (tie)
  40. Emilia, 65
  41. Lucy, 64
  42. Audrey, 61 (tie)
  43. Naomi, 61 (tie)
  44. Avery, 58
  45. Rehmat, 56 (tie)
  46. Willow, 56 (tie)
  47. Adeline, 55 (tie)
  48. Zoey, 55 (tie)
  49. Sadie, 54 (tie)
  50. Stella, 54 (tie)
  51. Ayla, 53 (tie)
  52. Claire, 53 (tie)

Boy names

  1. Noah, 248 baby boys
  2. Oliver, 203
  3. Liam, 196
  4. Theodore, 187
  5. Henry, 160
  6. William, 148
  7. Ethan, 141 (tie)
  8. Leo, 141 (tie)
  9. Jack, 140
  10. Lucas, 139
  11. Levi, 138
  12. Benjamin, 133 (tie)
  13. James, 133 (tie)
  14. Adam, 126
  15. Wyatt, 119
  16. Daniel, 117
  17. Luca, 111
  18. Nathan, 108
  19. Hudson, 107 (tie)
  20. Owen, 107 (tie)
  21. Bennett, 105
  22. Elijah, 104
  23. Thomas, 103
  24. Logan, 102 (tie)
  25. Muhammad, 102 (tie)
  26. Luke, 96
  27. Beau, 95
  28. Maverick, 94
  29. Samuel, 88
  30. Arthur, 84
  31. Jacob, 83
  32. Asher, 81
  33. Cooper, 80 (tie)
  34. Jackson, 80 (tie)
  35. Caleb, 79 (3-way tie)
  36. Elias, 79 (3-way tie)
  37. Ezra, 79 (3-way tie)
  38. Gabriel, 78
  39. Alexander, 77
  40. David, 76
  41. Lincoln, 75
  42. Aiden, 74 (tie)
  43. Wesley, 74 (tie)
  44. Zorawar, 73
  45. Isaac, 71 (tie)
  46. Miles, 71 (tie)
  47. Theo, 70
  48. Carter, 68
  49. Grayson, 65 (5-way tie)
  50. John, 65 (5-way tie)
  51. Mason, 65 (5-way tie)
  52. Matthew, 65 (5-way tie)
  53. Ryan, 65 (5-way tie)

Lainey (ranked 37th) was one of Canada’s fastest-rising girl names, and Zorawar (ranked 44th) was one of Canada’s fastest-rising boy names.

What about the names at the other end of the spectrum? Here’s a selection of the baby names that were bestowed just once in Alberta last year:

Unique girl namesUnique boy names
Aapistsisskitsi, Brevity, Cleofe, Datura, Edrielle, Frishta, Guidance, Hivirikee, Ilunga, Jinanshi, Katawasisin, Luladay, Milto, Nocturna, Olithea, Persimmyn, Quindy, Rhodalyn, Sora, Tezlie, Urenna, Viridis, Waseskwan, Xaeia, Yarrow, ZanessraAalto, Behxhet, Cedar-Sage, Delaneaux, Entz, Fomo, Gloriliel, Haoqi, Invictus, Joonharu, Kamharida, Luigi, Miekkonen, Nîmihitow, Okimâw, Piyêsiw, Qyler, Ryunosuke, Shinichi, Tobit, Urvil, Valo, Woodland, Xevreau, Yipei, Zildjian

Some explanations for a few of the above:

  • Aapistsisskitsi means “flower blossom” in Blackfoot.
  • Invictus means “unconquered” in Latin.
  • Katawasisin means “it is beautiful” in Cree.
  • Meikkonen means “little man” in Finnish. (The word mies means “man.”)
  • Nîmihitow means “he/she dances” in Cree.
  • Okimâw means “chief, leader” in Cree.
  • Piyêsiw means “thunderbird” in Cree.
  • Viridis means “green, youthful” in Latin.
  • Waseskwan means “the sky is clear” in Cree.
  • Zildjian is a musical instrument maker specializing in cymbals.
    • The company was founded in the 1620s by Avedis, an Armenian metalsmith based in Constantinople. In 1623, the Sultan of the Ottoman Empire, Mustafa I, granted Avedis the family name Zildjian, meaning “son of [the] cymbal maker.”

Finally, here’s a link to Alberta’s 2023 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

Sources:

Image: Adapted from Flag of Alberta (public domain)

Popular baby names in the Czech Republic, 2024

Flag of the Czech Republic
Flag of the Czech Republic

Last year, the central European country of the Czech Republic welcomed about 84,000 babies.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Eliška (for the 13th year in a row) and Jakub (for the 14th year in a row).

Here are Czechia’s top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2024:

Girl names

  1. Eliška
  2. Viktorie
  3. Sofie
  4. Anna
  5. Natálie
  6. Amálie
  7. Ema
  8. Tereza
  9. Laura
  10. Adéla
  11. Julie
  12. Rozálie
  13. Nela
  14. Mia
  15. Emma
  16. Karolína
  17. Barbora
  18. Sára
  19. Stella
  20. Anežka – the Czech form of Agnes.
  21. Veronika
  22. Marie
  23. Kristýna
  24. Meda
  25. Valerie
  26. Ella
  27. Klára
  28. Jasmína
  29. Štepánka
  30. Josefína
  31. Lucie
  32. Aneta
  33. Nina
  34. Magdaléna
  35. Zuzana (3-way tie)
  36. Ester (3-way tie)
  37. Beáta (3-way tie)
  38. Alžbeta (tie) – the Slovak form of Elizabeth.
  39. Elena (tie)
  40. Rozárie – the Czech form of Rosaria.
  41. Katerina
  42. Sofia
  43. Leontýna
  44. Liliana
  45. Gabriela
  46. Emily
  47. Amélie
  48. Adriana (3-way tie)
  49. Michaela (3-way tie)
  50. Stela (3-way tie)

Boy names

  1. Jakub
  2. Matyáš
  3. Jan
  4. Adam
  5. Matej
  6. David
  7. Vojtech
  8. Filip
  9. Dominik
  10. Tomáš
  11. Daniel
  12. Tobiáš
  13. Oliver
  14. Štepán
  15. Antonín
  16. Sebastian
  17. Lukáš
  18. Martin
  19. Ondrej
  20. Mikuláš
  21. Šimon (tie)
  22. Marek (tie)
  23. Samuel
  24. Jonáš
  25. Václav
  26. Petr (tie)
  27. Teodor (tie)
  28. Patrik
  29. Jirí – the Czech form of George.
  30. Tadeáš
  31. Kryštof
  32. Michal
  33. Viktor
  34. Vilém – the Czech form of William.
  35. Jáchym
  36. Eliáš
  37. Josef
  38. Richard
  39. Eduard
  40. František
  41. Albert
  42. Tobias
  43. Theodor
  44. Alex
  45. Pavel
  46. Kristián (tie)
  47. Damián (tie)
  48. Vincent
  49. Jindrich – the Czech form of Heinrich.
  50. Michael

The girls’ top 100 included Markéta (57th), Klaudie (68th), Nella (76th), and Bára (97th).

The boys’ top 100 included Vít (55th), Robin (60th), Hynek (66th), and Kevin (81st).

Speaking of Kevin…Czech journalist Michal Kašpárek (who helped build an app based on Czechia’s baby name data) mentioned Kevin and several other non-Czech names during an interview with Radio Prague International last year. Some quotes:

  • Amélie: “Before the movie Amélie came out in 2001 about one girl a year in the Czech Republic was named Amélie. The year after there [were] 13, out of nowhere, and then the number doubled each year until reaching today’s 180 or so Amélies every year.”
  • Kevin: “Kevin became really popular after Home Alone came out, which was in the ’90s, when American names in general got more popular in the Czech Republic.”
  • Bob: “[O]ur data also shows that the first Bobs were showing up in the 1960s, possibly due to Bob Dylan.”
  • Amy: “There was also a big increase in the name Amy around that time that Amy Winehouse hit it big. That was a trend that didn’t stop after she passed away. Amy is still a really common name, and it hadn’t been before.”

I didn’t post about Czechia’s top baby names of 2023, but here are Czechia’s 2016 rankings.

P.S. Several Czech letters, such as R-with-caron and E-with-caron, don’t render properly on my site. So please imagine that they exist in several of the names above: the girl names Alžbeta, Katerina, and Štepánka, and the boy names Jindrich, Jirí, Matej, Ondrej, Štepán, and Vojtech.

Sources: Detským jménum loni opet kralovali Jakub a Eliška – Ceský statistický úrad, Eliška and Jakub remain most popular baby names in Czechia – Radio Prague International, Jakub, Eliška… Kevin: App spotlights first names in Czechia – Radio Prague International, Behind the Name

Image: Adapted from Flag of the Czech Republic (public domain)