Name Awesome

Sami

#1,114 in 2025UnisexBoys' nameGirls' name

Multiple documented origins; meaning depends on tradition

Sami has been given to 6,727 babies in the U.S. since 1955. In 2025 it ranked #1,114 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 2025, with 193 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 79% boys, 21% girls all-time.

Babies named Sami, 2025

1 in 17,200

Sami over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls
05010015020018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — Sami over time

In 2025, Sami went to 12% girls and 88% boys.

19452025

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

Sami: meaning, origin, and history

Multiple documented origins; meaning depends on tradition

Arabic

What Sami means

Sami has more than one naming route in the cited origin entries: “high, exalted” and “high, elevated”.

Dictionary etymologyReferences, data & attribution

Derived from Arabic سَامِي (sāmī), from the informal pronunciation of سَامٍ (sāmin, “high, exalted”).

Excerpt from Wiktionary: Sami (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Origin, language, and formation

Sami is used in English, Albanian, Azerbaijani, Finnish and Turkish. Its origins include Arabic.

Sami comes through Arabic سَامِي.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Samiyah, Samantha, Samiyə, Samuel and Samiye.

Pronunciation and spelling

In Azerbaijani, Sami is pronounced [sɑˈmi].

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 5,303 boys were recorded with the name Sami between 1955 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 193 in 2025; its best national rank was #1,113 in 2017.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #1,319 in 2020 to #1,114 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #1,133 in 2015 to #1,114 in 2025.

In the United States, 1,424 girls were recorded with the name Sami between 1945 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 39 in 2005; its best national rank was #2,783 in 1976.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #4,733 in 2020 to #4,968 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #7,546 in 2015 to #4,968 in 2025.

How common is Sami?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 17,200
193 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 8,850
0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025
#1,114
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
11,907 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Sami sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 5003%

Put another way: gather 11,907 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Sami. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Samis were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Sami was born before 2008 — so the typical Sami is around 17 today.

Median birth year
2008
About 17 years old
Biggest decade
2010s
27.8% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
67.5%
A modern name
Recorded since 1950
5,303
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

2010s — 27.8% of all recorded uses (1,475).

Is Sami rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
+155
Places climbed
Rank vs 5 years ago
+205
Places climbed
Rank vs 10 years ago
+19
Places climbed
Births vs 10 years ago
1.15×
More babies than then
Share of its own peak
100.0%
Peak was 2025 (193)
Years since peak
Peaking now
At its all-time high
Year-to-year steadiness
Steady
9.6% average annual change
Best rank ever
#1,113
2017

Spellings of Sami

Sami is not the most common spelling — Sam is, with 17.9% against Sami's 0.74%.

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Where Sami is used — boys

Across 2016–2025, Sami was most concentrated in Massachusetts — about 1 in 4,000 boys, against 1 in 10,212 across all states with data. It was least common in Washington (1 in 100,000).

125 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Massachusetts1 in 4,000
  2. 2Virginia1 in 5,000
  3. 3Michigan1 in 5,556
  4. 4New Jersey1 in 5,556
  5. 5New York1 in 5,556
  6. 6Illinois1 in 6,250
  7. 7Ohio1 in 9,091
  8. 8California1 in 11,111

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings.

Where Sami is used — girls

Across 1910–2025, Sami was most concentrated in California — about 1 in — girls, against 1 in 494,056 across all states with data. It was least common in Texas (1 in —).

00 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1California1 in —
  2. 2Pennsylvania1 in —
  3. 3Texas1 in —

Shading is the share of that state's recorded girls given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. Sami has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Sami around the world

Where Sami ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • England & Wales
    1996–2025
    #271
    in 2025
  • Scotland
    1983–2025
    #441
    in 2025
  • Ireland
    1995–2025
    #829
    in 2025
  • France
    1929–2025
    #266
    in 2025
  • Norway
    1880–2024
    #468
    in 2024
  • Canada
    1991–2024
    #322
    in 2024
  • South Australia
    1965–2013
    #499
    in 2013

Popularity data from Office for National Statistics, National Records of Scotland, Central Statistics Office, Institut national de la statistique et des études économiques, Statistics Norway, Statistics Canada and Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). ONS, NRS data under Open Government Licence v3.0. CSO, SSB, CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0. INSEE data under Licence Ouverte / Etalab 2.0. StatCan data under Statistics Canada Open Licence.

Notable people named Sami

People whose public names include Sami, backed by Wikidata given-name records and ordered by linked Wikimedia pages. The name may be a middle name.

People data from Wikidata (CC0). Fame is measured, not judged — the order reflects how widely each person is documented, not the U.S. birth records popularity this page is otherwise about.

Sami in other languages

Cross-language forms and variants of Sami. Linked forms have their own page here.

SamySameeSamuSampsaSamuli

Variant forms from Wikidata (CC0). Most are used mainly outside the United States; U.S. birth records statistics cover US usage only.

Sami by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#1,114
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 205
Best rank ever
#1,113
2017
Peak year
2025
193 that year
First recorded
1955
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
5,303
Count in 2025
193

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
#4,968
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Down 235
Best rank ever
#2,783
1976
Peak year
2005
39 that year
First recorded
1945
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
1,424
Count in 2025
27

Names similar to Sami

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

SamirSamualRamiSamySameerSamerSamarSamsonSampsonSamadSammySammieSammuelSamaySamajSamariSamarthSamaelSamSamieJamiSamilAmiSameul

Names with a curve like Sami

Not spelling — timing. These names rose, peaked and faded in the same years as Sami, so they read as being from the same moment even when they look nothing alike.

BilalTorinAmarMenachemEamonShlomoTajMikaelHasanImmanuelKenanAvrohom

Sibling names for Sami

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Sami

Top names of 2025, Sami's peak yearThe 2020s in fullOther names that peaked in 2017Boys' names starting with SFinnish Boy Names