Sammantha
Feminine variant of the Hebrew name Samuel, meaning "name of God".
Name Census estimates that about 1,920 living Americans carry the first name Sammantha. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Sammantha today is around 30 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sammantha births was 1991 (121 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sammantha. 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
1.9K
~ 1 in 178,518 Americans
Peak year
1991
121 babies that year
Average age
30
years old
2019 SSA rank
#11,230
Tracked since 1965
Census
Sammantha in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,642 people with the first name Sammantha, which placed it at #8,746 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
#8,746
National first-name rank
People counted
1.6K
1,642 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
62.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sammantha
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sammantha is White at 62.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (24.6%) and Two or More Races (4.9%). 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 Sammantha 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 Sammantha at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White62.6% · 1,028
- Hispanic or Latino24.6% · 404
- Two or more races4.9% · 80
- Black or African American4.8% · 78
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 33
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 19
Popularity
Sammantha: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sammantha from the 1960s through to the 2010s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 1,007 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1990s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Sammantha 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 Sammantha during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sammanthas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 14 states and territories. California, Texas, Washington recorded the most babies named Sammantha, while Missouri, Massachusetts, Colorado recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 52 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Sammantha
The name Sammantha is a feminine given name of English origin, derived from the Hebrew name Samuel, meaning "name of God" or "God heard." It emerged as a variant spelling of the more common name Samantha in the early 20th century.
The earliest recorded use of the name Sammantha dates back to the late 19th century, although it remained relatively uncommon until the mid-20th century. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Sammantha Smith, an American schoolgirl who gained international attention in the 1980s for her peace activism and her correspondence with Soviet leader Yuri Andropov.
In ancient times, the name Samuel, from which Sammantha is derived, was borne by the biblical prophet and judge of the same name, who played a crucial role in the establishment of the Hebrew monarchy by anointing both Saul and David as kings of Israel.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have carried the name Sammantha. Sammantha Ronson, born in 1977, is a British DJ, singer-songwriter, and music producer, known for her work with artists such as Lindsay Lohan and Wale. Sammantha Shad, born in 1977, is a Canadian singer-songwriter and TV personality who has released several albums and appeared on various TV shows.
Sammantha Allen, born in 1982, is an American writer and transgender rights activist, known for her work on LGBTQ+ issues and her book "Real Queer America: LGBT Stories from Red States." Sammantha Mugatsia, born in 1985, is a Kenyan long-distance runner who has represented her country in international competitions, including the Olympic Games.
Sammantha Cason, born in 1993, is an American actress and model who has appeared in various TV shows and films, such as "NCIS: New Orleans" and "Embattled." While not an exhaustive list, these individuals showcase the diversity of fields and backgrounds in which the name Sammantha has been represented throughout history.
People
Sammantha + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sammantha 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
Sammantha: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sammantha?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,920 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sammantha 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 178,518 US residents.
Is Sammantha a common name?
We classify Sammantha as "Rare". It ranks above 93.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,985 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sammantha most popular?
The single biggest year for Sammantha was 1991, when 121 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sammantha is about 30 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Sammantha in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,642 people with the name Sammantha, or 0.54 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #8,746 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 Sammantha 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 Sammantha?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Sammantha appears almost entirely female. Of the 1,645 people counted with this name, 99.8% 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 Sammantha?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sammantha is White at 62.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (24.6%) and Two or More Races (4.9%). 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 Sammantha most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Sammantha in the 2020 Census, accounting for 62.6% (1,028 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 Sammantha in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sammantha a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Sammantha 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 Sammantha still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sammantha 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 Sammantha 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 Sammantha?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.