68%RatingSave Gender Masculine Usage Literature Pronounced Pron. SAM(English) [key·IPA] Meaning & History The name of a hobbit in J. R. R. Tolkien's novel The Lord of the Rings (1954). His full given name was Samwise meaning "half wise" in Old English (the language used by Tolkien to represent the old hobbit speech). Related Names Same SpellingSam (1), Sam (2)User SubmissionsSâm, Sam DetailsPopularity Last ranked #97 in 2010 Australia (NSW) Last ranked #96 in 2019 (m) #95 in 2010 (f) Belgium Last ranked #249 in 2019 England and Wales Last ranked #279 in 2019 France Last ranked #44 in 2019 Ireland Last ranked #12 in 2020 (m) #149 in 2020 (f) Netherlands Last ranked #82 in 2013 New Zealand Last ranked #100 in 2018 Northern Ireland Last ranked #94 in 2019 Scotland Last ranked #27 in 2019 Sweden Last ranked #614 in 2019 United States Categories short forms, Tolkien characters Entry updated November 16, 2019 ·