Samanda
A feminine name with uncertain origins, potentially a blend of names.
Name Census estimates that about 253 living Americans carry the first name Samanda. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Samanda today is around 33 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Samanda births was 1994 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Samanda. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Samanda with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
253
~ 1 in 1,354,760 Americans
Peak year
1994
14 babies that year
Average age
33
years old
2016 SSA rank
#18,384
Tracked since 1970
Census
Samanda in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 322 people with the first name Samanda, which placed it at #28,067 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
#28,067
National first-name rank
People counted
322
322 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
42.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Samanda
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Samanda is Hispanic at 42.5%. The next largest groups are White (31.4%) and Black (16.5%). 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 Samanda 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 Samanda at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino42.5% · 137
- White31.4% · 101
- Black or African American16.5% · 53
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.9% · 19
- Two or more races2.5% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 4
Popularity
Samanda: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Samanda from the 1970s through to the 2010s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 72 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2000s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Samanda 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 Samanda during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Samanda
The name Samanda is thought to have its origins in the Sanskrit language, which was prevalent in ancient India. It is believed to be derived from the Sanskrit word "samanta," meaning "all-around" or "surrounding." This linguistic connection suggests that the name may have been associated with concepts of completeness, wholeness, or encompassing qualities.
The earliest known use of the name Samanda can be traced back to the 6th century CE in the Indian subcontinent. During this time period, the name was frequently bestowed upon individuals from various walks of life, from religious scholars to members of the nobility. It is possible that the name held spiritual or philosophical significance, reflecting the pursuit of a holistic understanding of the world.
One of the earliest recorded individuals bearing the name Samanda was a renowned Buddhist monk who lived in the 7th century CE. He was known for his profound teachings and his contributions to the spread of Buddhism across Southeast Asia. Another notable figure was Samanda Gupta, a powerful ruler of the Gupta Empire in the 4th century CE, whose reign was marked by territorial expansion and cultural prosperity.
As the name Samanda spread beyond its place of origin, it acquired variations in spelling and pronunciation across different regions. In certain parts of the Middle East, for instance, the name was transcribed as "Samandah" or "Samandar," reflecting the influence of Arabic and Persian languages on its evolution.
Throughout history, several influential figures have borne the name Samanda. In the 12th century, Samanda Al-Khayyat was a celebrated Persian poet known for her exquisite verses and literary contributions. During the Mughal Empire in the 16th century, Samanda Khan was a prominent military leader and governor who played a pivotal role in various military campaigns and administrative affairs.
In more recent times, Samanda Nandlal was a renowned Indian artist and painter from the 20th century, renowned for her vibrant and evocative depictions of rural life and landscapes. Her works have been widely exhibited and acclaimed both within India and internationally.
While the name Samanda has undergone transformations and adaptations across different cultures and time periods, its roots in ancient Sanskrit and its association with concepts of wholeness and encompassing qualities have endured, making it a name with a rich and fascinating history.
People
Samanda + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Samanda 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
Samanda: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Samanda?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 253 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Samanda 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 1,354,760 US residents.
Is Samanda a common name?
We classify Samanda as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 264 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Samanda most popular?
The single biggest year for Samanda was 1994, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Samanda is about 33 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Samanda in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 322 people with the name Samanda, or 0.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #28,067 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 Samanda 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 Samanda?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Samanda appears almost entirely female. Of the 320 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Samanda?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Samanda is Hispanic at 42.5%. The next largest groups are White (31.4%) and Black (16.5%). 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 Samanda most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Samanda in the 2020 Census, accounting for 42.5% (137 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 Samanda in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Samanda a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Samanda in the SSA data are female. 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 Samanda still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Samanda 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 Samanda 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 have the name Samanda?
See how many people have the name Samanda on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.