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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From the 2011 movie Bridesmaids, drunk bridesmaid Annie (played by Kristen Wiig) being kicked out of first class by flight attendant Steve:
Annie: Whatever you say, Stove.
Steve: It’s Steve.
Annie: “Stove” — what kinda name is that?
Steve: That’s not a name. My name is Steve.
Annie: Are you an appliance?
Steve: No I’m a man, and my name is Steve.
From the 1995 movie Clueless, high school student Cher on the similarity between her name and that of her best friend Dionne:
We were both named after great singers of the past who now do infomercials.
(Dionne’s name comes from Dionne Warwick.)
From the 1984 movie This is Spinal Tap, Marty DiBergi interviewing David St. Hubbins:
Marty: David St. Hubbins…I must admit I’ve never heard anybody with that name.
David: It’s an unusual name. Well, he was an unusual saint. He’s not a very well known saint.
Marty: Oh, there actually is, uh, there was a Saint Hubbins?
David: That’s right, yes.
Marty: What was he the saint of?
David: He was the patron saint of quality footwear.
From the 2006 movie Casino Royale, James Bond commenting on Vesper Lynd’s first name:
Vesper. I do hope you gave your parents hell for that.
From the 1984 movie Splash, character Allen (played by Tom Hanks) talking with his then-nameless lady friend (played by Daryl Hannah) as they walk around New York City:
Woman: What are English names?
Allen: Well, there’s millions of them, I guess. Jennifer, Joanie, Hilary. (Careful, hey, those are hot!) See names, names… Linda, Kim– (Where are we? Madison.) Uh, Elizabeth, Samantha–
Woman: Madison…I like Madison!
Allen: Madison’s not a name… Well, all right, ok, fine, Madison it is. Good thing we weren’t at 149th Street.
Scene from “LA Story“
From the 1991 movie LA Story, a conversation between Harris (played by Steve Martin) and SanDeE* (played by Sarah Jessica Parker):
Harris: What was your name again?
Sandee: SanDeE*
Harris: I’m sorry, Sandy, Sandy… It’s a nice name. Everybody has such weird names now, it’s like Tiffany with a P-H-I, and instead of Nancy it’s Nancine. [He begins to write her name down.]
Sandee: Big S, small A, small N, big D, small E, big E.
Harris: What?
Sandee: Big S, small A, small N, big D, small E, big E. [She grabs his hand and writes directly on it.] Big S, small A, small N, big D, small E, big E. Then there’s a little star at the end.
From the 1999 movie Superstar, character Mary Katherine Gallagher talking to schoolmate Evian:
You know what, Evi? You should be really embarrassed, because your parents named you after bottled water.
From the 2004 movie Mean Girls, high school principal Mr. Duvall introducing new student Cady Heron:
Mr. Duvall: Her name is Caddie, Caddie Heron. Where are you Caddie?
Cady: That’s me. It’s pronounced like Katie.
Mr. Duvall: My apologies. I have a nephew named Anfernee, and I know how mad he gets when I call him Anthony. Almost as mad as I get when I think about the fact that my sister named him Anfernee.
From the 2010 movie Sex and the City 2, characters Carrie and Aidan talk about Aidan’s three sons:
Carrie: My god, three?
Aidan: Homer, Wyatt, Tate.
Carrie: Sounds like a country music band.
From the 1949 movie Mother Is a Freshman, about a 35-year-old widow, Abigail (played by Loretta Young), who starts attending the college that her daughter Susan goes to:
Abigail: I mean about the Abigail Fortitude Memorial Scholarship.
Susan: The one they give to any girl whose first two names are Abigail Fortitude?
Abigail: Yes.
Susan: Clara Fettle says no one’s applied for it since 1907, and there’s zillions piling up.
Abigail: And you never told me!
Susan: Of course not.
Abigail: It never occurred to you that my first names are Abigail Fortitude–that I’ve had to put up with them all my life!
Susan: I know, Mom. It must have been awful.
Abigail [struck by thought]: Maybe that’s why my mother gave me those names. Maybe she know about the scholarship.
(Turns out the scholarship had been set up by Abigail’s grandmother, also named Abigail Fortitude.)
From the 2000 movie Where the Heart Is, character Lexie (Ashley Judd) talking about her kids’ names:
I call my kids after snack foods: Brownie, Praline, Cherry and Baby Ruth.
Scene from “Pretty in Pink“
From the 1986 movie Pretty in Pink, part of a heated conversion between Andie (played by Molly Ringwald) and Duckie (played by Jon Cryer)
Andie: You know you’re talking like that just because I’m going out with Blane.
Duckie: Blane? His name is Blane? That’s a major appliance, that’s not a name!
From the 2013 animated movie Despicable Me 2:
Gru: Goodnight Margo…whoa, hold your horses. Who are you texting?
Margo: My friend Avery.
Gru: Avery. Avery? Is that a girl’s name or a boy’s name?
Margo: Does it matter?
Gru: No, no, it doesn’t matter…unless it’s a boy!
(Incidentally, Gru’s first name is Felonious.)
From the 1980 disaster movie spoof Airplane!:
Dr. Rumack: Can you fly this plane and land it?
Ted Striker: Surely you can’t be serious.
Dr. Rumack: I am serious. And don’t call me Shirley.
Images: Screenshots of Bridesmaids, LA Story, and Pretty in Pink
If you’re on the hunt for baby names with a numerological value of 5, you’re in luck! Because today’s post features hundreds of 5-names.
Before we get to the names, though — how do we know that they’re “fives” in numerology?
Turning names into numbers
Here’s how to calculate the numerological value of a name.
First, for each letter, come up with a number to represent that letter’s position in the alphabet. (Letter A would be number 1, letter B would be number 2, and so forth.) Then, add all the numbers together. If the sum has two or more digits, add the digits together recursively until the result is a single digit. That single digit is the name’s numerological value.
For instance, the letters in the name Peyton correspond to the numbers 16, 5, 25, 20, 15, and 14. The sum of these numbers is 95. The digits of 95 added together equal 14, and the digits of 14 added together equal 5 — the numerological value of Peyton.
Baby names with a value of 5
Below you’ll find the most popular 5-names per gender, according to the latest U.S. baby name data. I’ve further sub-categorized them by total sums — just in case any of those larger numbers are significant to anyone.
5 via 14
The letters in the following baby names add up to 14, which reduces to five (1+4=5).
Girl names (5 via 14)
Boy names (5 via 14)
Ida, Adah, Caia, Dia, Becca
Ahad, Adi, Dj, Kc, Jac
5 via 23
The letters in the following baby names add up to 23, which reduces to five (2+3=5).
Girl names (5 via 23)
Boy names (5 via 23)
Mia, Alia, Aila, Adela, Cara, Addie, Laia, Edie, Jaci, Ami
Caleb, Coda, Acen, Iam, Adem
5 via 32
The letters in the following baby names add up to 32, which reduces to five (3+2=5).
There’s no definitive answer, unfortunately, because various numerological systems exist, and each one has its own interpretation of the number five. That said, if we look at a couple of modern numerology/astrology websites, we see 5 being described as “freedom-loving,” “dynamic,” “adaptable,” “curious,” and “unpredictable.”
We can also look at associations, which are a bit more concrete. Here are some things that are associated with the number 5:
Fingers
High-five (hand gesture)
Toes
Senses (sight, smell, touch, taste, hearing)
Tastes (sweet, salty, sour, bitter, umami)
Starfish (most starfish have 5 arms)
Basketball (5 players per side)
Olympic Games (symbolized by 5 interlocked rings)
Greek classical elements (water, earth, air, fire, aether)
Quintessence (refers to the fifth element, aether, which was a late addition to the list)
Chinese traditional elements (water, fire, earth, wood, metal)
What does the number 5 mean to you? What are your strongest associations with the number?
P.S. To see names with other numerological values, check out the posts for the numbers one, two, three, four, six, seven, eight, and nine.
We looked at the top baby name rises last month, so this month let’s look at the opposite: the top drops. That is, the baby names that decreased the most in usage, percentage-wise, from one year to the next in the Social Security Administration’s data.
Here’s the format: girl names are on the left, boy names are on the right, and the percentages represent single-year slides in usage. (For example, from 1880 to 1881, usage of the girl name Clementine dropped 68% and usage of the boy name Neil dropped 76%.)
The SSA data isn’t perfect, but it does become more accurate in the late 1930s, because “many people born before 1937 never applied for a Social Security card, so their names are not included in our data” (SSA). Now, back to the list…
I’ve already written about some of the names above (click the links to see the posts) and I plan to write about a few of the others. In the meanwhile, though, feel free to beat me to it — leave a comment and let us know why you think any of these names saw dropped in usage when they did.
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