How common is the surname Sam?

12,053 people in the United States had the surname Sam in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 25,616 Americans. It ranked 2,974th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Sam?

Michael Sam, American football player.

Where is the surname Sam most common?

Wikidata records people named Sam in the United States.

Is the surname Sam getting more or less common?

More common. 9,600 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 12,053 in 2010, up 26%.

Is Sam also a first name?

Yes. Sam is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Sam

A Chinese surname, carried by 12,053 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈsæm/ 1 syllable Soundex S500 Also a first name

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Sam is more common than 98.2% of them.

Origin

Chinese origin

A surname from Cantonese, a romanization of 岑 (sam⁴) or 沈 (cam⁴ / zam³).

One of 193 Chinese surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 12,053 people named Sam in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 25,616 Americans. That is up 26% since 2000, when the Census counted 9,600.

#2,974

rank among US surnames

12,053

people in 2010

4.1

per 100,000 Americans

+25.6%

change since 2000 (was #3,413)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#2,965	Pence	12,101	25,514
#2,966	Hatton	12,090	25,537
#2,967	Rust	12,086	25,546
#2,968	Duckworth	12,080	25,558
#2,969	Frantz	12,079	25,561
#2,970	O'Reilly	12,074	25,571
#2,971	Bundy	12,065	25,590

Who is named Sam

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

34% of people named Sam identified as Asian and Pacific Islander, 28% as Black (not Hispanic) and 18% as American Indian and Alaska Native.

Asian and Pacific Islander 34%
Black (not Hispanic) 28%
American Indian and Alaska Native 18%
White (not Hispanic) 12%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 5.4%
Two or more races 3.1%

Compare: most common surnames among Asian and Pacific Islander Americans.

Famous Sams

1 notable person on Wikidata, most written-about first

Michael Sam
American football player, born 1990

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Sam

Sam has the Soundex code S500, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code S500.

Other Chinese surnames

All 193 Chinese surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Sam come from?: Sam is Chinese in origin.
How common is the surname Sam?: 12,053 people in the United States had the surname Sam in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 25,616 Americans. It ranked 2,974th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Sam?: In the 2010 Census, 34% of people named Sam identified as Asian and Pacific Islander, and 28% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Sam?: Michael Sam, American football player.
Where is the surname Sam most common?: Wikidata records people named Sam in the United States.
How do you pronounce Sam?: Sam is /ˈsæm/, one syllable.
Is the surname Sam getting more or less common?: More common. 9,600 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 12,053 in 2010, up 26%.
Is Sam also a first name?: Yes. Sam is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.