Behind the Name
the etymology and history of first names
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View Name: Samuel


SAMUEL
GENDER: Masculine
USAGE: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Scandinavian, Finnish, Biblical
OTHER SCRIPTS: שְׁמוּאֵל (Ancient Hebrew)
PRONOUNCED: SAM-yoo-əl (English), SAM-yəl (English)   [key]
Meaning & History
From the Hebrew name שְׁמוּאֵל (Shemu'el) which could mean either "name of God" or "God has heard". Samuel was the last of the ruling judges in the Old Testament. He anointed Saul to be the first king of Israel, and later anointed David.

As a Christian name, Samuel came into common use after the Protestant Reformation. Famous bearers include American inventor Samuel Morse (1791-1872), Irish writer Samuel Beckett (1906-1989), and American author Samuel Clemens (1835-1910), who wrote under the pen name Mark Twain.

Related Names
VARIANT: Samuli (Finnish)
DIMINUTIVES: Sam, Sammie, Sammy (English), Sami, Samppa, Samu (Finnish)
FEMININE FORMS: Samantha (English), Samanta (Spanish)
OTHER LANGUAGES: Samouel (Biblical Greek), Shemu'el (Biblical Hebrew), Samuhel (Biblical Latin), Samuil (Bulgarian), Shmuel (Hebrew), Sámuel, Sami, Samu (Hungarian), Samuele (Italian), Samuil (Russian), Sawyl (Welsh)
Popularity
United States  ranked #26 
England/Wales  ranked #14 
Canada (BC)  ranked #21 
Australia (NSW)  ranked #14 
Austria  ranked #26 
Belgium  ranked #48 
Catalonia  ranked #62 
Chile  ranked #88 
France  ranked #43 
Hungary  ranked #100 
Ireland  ranked #39 
Netherlands  ranked #92 
Northern Ireland  ranked #43 
Norway  ranked #87 
Scotland  ranked #42 
Spain  ranked #20 
Sweden  ranked #63 
SEE ALSO
SÁMUEL


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