Samaj
A masculine Hindu/Sanskrit name meaning community or society.
Name Census estimates that about 376 living Americans carry the first name Samaj. It is a predominantly male name (95.3% of registrations). The average person named Samaj today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Samaj births was 2012 (34 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Samaj. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
376
~ 1 in 911,581 Americans
Peak year
2012
34 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2024 SSA rank
#5,391
Tracked since 1993
Census
Samaj in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 324 people with the first name Samaj, which placed it at #27,953 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#27,953
National first-name rank
People counted
324
324 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
88.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Samaj
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Samaj is Black at 88.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Two or More Races (3.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Samaj described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Samaj at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American88.6% · 287
- Hispanic or Latino4.0% · 13
- Two or more races3.4% · 11
- White2.5% · 8
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.2% · 4
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 1
Gender
Gender distribution for Samaj
Samaj leans heavily male at 95.3% of total registrations, but 18 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Samaj as a male name
- Ranked #5,391 in 2024
- 18 male births in 2024
- Peak: 2012 (27 births)
Samaj as a female name
- Ranked #14,712 in 2012
- 7 female births in 2012
- Peak: 2012 (7 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Samaj leans strongly male. 259 people counted with this name were male (80.7%), compared with 62 female bearers (19.3%).
Popularity
Samaj: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Samaj from the 1990s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 173 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Samaj remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Samaj by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Samaj during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Samajs live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Pennsylvania, Georgia, New Jersey recorded the most babies named Samaj, while New Jersey, Georgia, Pennsylvania recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 16 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Samaj
The name Samaj has its origins in Sanskrit, an ancient Indo-Aryan language that is the primary source of many modern Indian languages and the liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism. The word "samaj" in Sanskrit means society, community, or assembly.
In Hinduism, the concept of "samaj" has significant importance, as it refers to the social order and the harmonious coexistence of different groups within a community. The word "samaj" is also present in various Hindu scriptures, such as the Vedas and the Upanishads, where it is used in the context of social organization and collective well-being.
The earliest recorded use of the name Samaj can be traced back to ancient India, where it was likely given to individuals who played a prominent role in community affairs or were regarded as advocates for social harmony. However, it is difficult to pinpoint the exact historical figures who bore this name, as record-keeping practices were not as rigorous in ancient times.
One notable figure associated with the name Samaj is Raja Ram Mohan Roy (1772-1833), a prominent Indian philosopher, social reformer, and the founder of the Brahmo Samaj, a religious and social movement that aimed to revive ancient Indian values and promote social and religious reform. His efforts laid the foundation for the Renaissance in Bengal and inspired many other social and religious reform movements in India.
Another significant figure with the name Samaj was Mahatma Jyotirao Phule (1827-1890), a prominent social reformer and activist from Maharashtra, India. He was a pioneer of the non-Brahmin movement and worked tirelessly to promote the education and upliftment of marginalized communities, particularly women and the lower castes. He established the first school for girls in India and played a crucial role in challenging the caste system and promoting social equality.
In the 20th century, Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (1891-1956), a renowned Indian jurist, economist, politician, and social reformer, was also known by the name Samaj. He was the chief architect of the Indian Constitution and a champion of the rights of Dalits (the untouchable caste) and other marginalized groups in India. His efforts and advocacy played a pivotal role in shaping the modern Indian society and promoting social justice.
Samaj Naree, also known as Samaj Bai (1842-1940), was a prominent Indian freedom fighter and social reformer from Madhya Pradesh. She played an active role in the Indian independence movement and worked towards promoting women's education and empowerment in her region.
Lastly, Samaj Shikshan Mandal (1885-1966) was an Indian social reformer and educationist from Maharashtra. He established several educational institutions and worked towards promoting education and social reform, particularly in rural areas.
People
Samaj + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Samaj as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Samaj: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Samaj?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 376 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Samaj going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 911,581 US residents.
Is Samaj a common name?
We classify Samaj as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 380 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Samaj most popular?
The single biggest year for Samaj was 2012, when 34 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Samaj is about 14 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Samaj in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 324 people with the name Samaj, or 0.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #27,953 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Samaj in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Samaj?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Samaj leans strongly male. 259 people counted with this name were male (80.7%), compared with 62 female bearers (19.3%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Samaj?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Samaj is Black at 88.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (4.0%) and Two or More Races (3.4%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Samaj most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Samaj in the 2020 Census, accounting for 88.6% (287 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Samaj in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Samaj a male name?
Yes, 95.3% of people registered as Samaj in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Samaj still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Samaj in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Samaj can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are called Samaj?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.