# Samuel (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/samuel/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | Greek |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 23,125 |
| US rank (2010) | 1,558 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 13,351 people |
| Change since 2000 | +20% (19,225 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈsæmjuːəl/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

From Latin Samuēl, from Ancient Greek Σαμουήλ (Samouḗl), from Biblical Hebrew שְׁמוּאֵל (šəmûʾēl, literally “'God has set' or 'God has placed'”). Taken to mean a contraction of popular folk etymology שְׁאִלְתִּיו מֵאֵל (“I have asked/borrowed him from God”) (Modern: Šəʾīltīv mēʾĒl, Tiberian: Šĭʾīltīw mēʾĒl) by way of שָׁאוּל מֵאֵל (“asked/borrowed from God”) from 1 Samuel 1:20.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Samuel in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 23% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 54% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 3.8% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 16% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.9% |
| Two or more races | 2.9% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Samuel in the United States, Australia, Argentina, Antigua and Barbuda, Belgium and the United Kingdom.

## People named Samuel

- Walter Samuel, Argentine association football player (born 1978)
- Xavier Samuel, Australian actor
- Arthur Samuel, American computer scientist (1901–1990)
- Heather Samuel, Antiguan athletics competitor (born 1970)
- Adolphe Samuel, Belgian composer, conductor and critic (1824–1898)
- Marcus Samuel, 1st Viscount Bearsted, British entrepreneur and politician (1853-1927)
- Deebo Samuel, American football player (born 1996)
- Benedict Samuel, actor, writer and photographer
- Joanne Samuel, Australian actress
- Asante Samuel, American football player (born 1981)
- Curtis Samuel, American football player
- Donna Williams, Australian writer, artist, singer-songwriter, screenwriter and sculptor

and 2 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

Smeal, Small, Snell, Smiley, Smalley, Smail, Schnell, Shanley, Schimmel, Scannell, Schmoll, Shemwell.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.