My female cousin is
Sam. Not
Samantha or anything--just
Sam. We're roomies and we're very close so it's extremely hard for me to separate the two. Plus one of the brothers on SPN is
Sam.
That said, I do like the name
Sam. It's short, strong, and full of worth. I'm not the biggest fan on
Samuel but I do like
Samson. Honestly, I like
Sam by itself the best. Whether it be for a girl or a boy and I think it's 100% unisex.
I wouldn't ever use the full version of a name I don't really like just so I can use the nickname I'm really after. I feel that lacks sense. I would just give the kid the nickname.