How common is the surname Sams?

16,014 people in the United States had the surname Sams in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 19,280 Americans. It ranked 2,275th of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Sams?

Emily Sams, American soccer player.

Where is the surname Sams most common?

Wikidata records people named Sams in the United States.

Is the surname Sams getting more or less common?

More common. 15,446 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 16,014 in 2010, up 3.7%.

Is Sams also a first name?

Yes. Sams 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 Sams

A surname, carried by 16,014 people in the United States.

1 syllable Soundex S520

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Sams is more common than 98.6% of them.

Origin

From Sam + -s (hypocoristic suffix).

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 16,014 people named Sams in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 19,280 Americans. That is up 3.7% since 2000, when the Census counted 15,446.

#2,275

rank among US surnames

16,014

people in 2010

5.4

per 100,000 Americans

+3.7%

change since 2000 (was #2,158)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#2,266	Dias	16,044	19,244
#2,268	McNally	16,039	19,250
#2,269	Schreiber	16,034	19,256
#2,270	Earl	16,027	19,264
#2,271	Berman	16,025	19,266
#2,272	Schaeffer	16,024	19,268
#2,273	Cheek	16,020	19,273

Who is named Sams

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

75% of people named Sams identified as white (not Hispanic), 19% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.3% as two or more races.

White (not Hispanic) 75%
Black (not Hispanic) 19%
Two or more races 2.3%
Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.2%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.8%
Asian and Pacific Islander 0.6%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Samss

1 notable person on Wikidata, most written-about first

Emily Sams
American soccer player, born 1999

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Sams

Sams has the Soundex code S520, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code S520.

Questions

Where does the surname Sams come from?: From Sam + -s (hypocoristic suffix).
How common is the surname Sams?: 16,014 people in the United States had the surname Sams in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 19,280 Americans. It ranked 2,275th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Sams?: In the 2010 Census, 75% of people named Sams identified as white (not Hispanic), and 19% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Sams?: Emily Sams, American soccer player.
Where is the surname Sams most common?: Wikidata records people named Sams in the United States.
Is the surname Sams getting more or less common?: More common. 15,446 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 16,014 in 2010, up 3.7%.
Is Sams also a first name?: Yes. Sams 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.