The surname Samuel
A Greek surname, carried by 23,125 people in the United States.
Pronounced /ˈsæmjuːəl/ 2 syllables Soundex S540 Also a first name
Origin
Greek origin
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.
One of 45 Greek surnames on this site.
Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).
How common it is
2010 US Census
There were 23,125 people named Samuel in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 13,351 Americans. That is up 20% since 2000, when the Census counted 19,225.
Who is named Samuel
Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census
54% of people named Samuel identified as Black (not Hispanic), 23% as white (not Hispanic) and 16% as Asian and Pacific Islander.
- Black (not Hispanic) 54%
- White (not Hispanic) 23%
- Asian and Pacific Islander 16%
- Hispanic or Latino (any race) 3.8%
- Two or more races 2.9%
- American Indian and Alaska Native 0.9%
Famous Samuels
14 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first
- Walter SamuelArgentine association football player (born 1978)
- Xavier SamuelAustralian actor, born 1983
- Arthur SamuelAmerican computer scientist (1901–1990)
- Heather SamuelAntiguan athletics competitor (born 1970)
- Adolphe SamuelBelgian composer, conductor and critic (1824–1898)
- Marcus Samuel, 1st Viscount BearstedBritish entrepreneur and politician (1853-1927)
- Deebo SamuelAmerican football player (born 1996)
- Benedict SamuelActor, writer and photographer, born 1988
- Joanne SamuelAustralian actress, born 1957
- Asante SamuelAmerican football player (born 1981)
- Curtis SamuelAmerican football player, born 1996
- Donna WilliamsAustralian writer, artist, singer-songwriter, screenwriter and sculptor, 1963–2017
Notable Samuels come mostly from the United States (5), Australia (4) and Argentina (1).
Spellings and sound-alikes
Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling
Surnames that sound like Samuel
Samuel has the Soundex code S540, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code S540.
Other Greek surnames
Questions
- Where does the surname Samuel come from?
- 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:…
- How common is the surname Samuel?
- 23,125 people in the United States had the surname Samuel in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 13,351 Americans. It ranked 1,558th of 162,253 surnames.
- What ethnicity is the surname Samuel?
- In the 2010 Census, 54% of people named Samuel identified as Black (not Hispanic), and 23% as white (not Hispanic).
- Who is the most famous person named Samuel?
- Walter Samuel, Argentine association football player (born 1978), followed by Xavier Samuel.
- Where is the surname Samuel most common?
- Wikidata records people named Samuel in the United States, Australia and Argentina and 3 other countries.
- How do you pronounce Samuel?
- Samuel is /ˈsæmjuːəl/, 2 syllables.
- Is the surname Samuel getting more or less common?
- More common. 19,225 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 23,125 in 2010, up 20%.
- Is Samuel also a first name?
- Yes. Samuel 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.