Masculine dossier · first seen 1880
Sam
Stable
Cross-generational persistence
Peak era
1918
Peak births
2,506
Current vitality
Fragile
Peak generation
Greatest Generation
Quick answers about Sam
How many people are named Sam?
An estimated 44,455 living Americans are named Sam.
How rare is Sam?
Sam is uncommon among babies today, with 428 boys receiving the name in 2025, down 82.9% from its 1918 peak.
How old is the typical Sam?
The median age of a living American named Sam is approximately 46 years, with most bearers falling between 23 and 67 years old.
Is Sam still popular?
Yes. Sam is holding steady, with 428 births in 2025 and a consistent recent baseline.
Where is Sam most common?
Sam has its strongest geographic signal in Mississippi, where it appears 3.4× more often than the national baseline.
1880Peak 19182025
Peak year
1918
Decline from peak
82.9%
2025
428
All-time
127,234
Where it lives now
Sam is most concentrated in Mississippi — about 3.3× the national rate in the 1950s.
States where Sam is given more often than the national average — its present-day heartland.