Samai
A Thai name meaning "precious" or "valuable".
Name Census estimates that about 175 living Americans carry the first name Samai. It is a predominantly female name (96.6% of registrations). The average person named Samai today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Samai births was 2009 (18 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Samai. 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
175
~ 1 in 1,958,596 Americans
Peak year
2009
18 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
2019 SSA rank
#11,884
Tracked since 2001
Census
Samai in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 323 people with the first name Samai, which placed it at #28,012 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
#28,012
National first-name rank
People counted
323
323 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
40.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Samai
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Samai is Hispanic at 40.6%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (27.6%) and Black (20.4%). 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 Samai 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 Samai at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino40.6% · 131
- Asian and Pacific Islander27.6% · 89
- Black or African American20.4% · 66
- Two or more races5.9% · 19
- White5.6% · 18
Gender
Gender distribution for Samai
Samai leans heavily female at 96.6% of total registrations, but 6 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Samai as a male name
- Ranked #11,884 in 2019
- 6 male births in 2019
- Peak: 2019 (6 births)
Samai as a female name
- Ranked #12,001 in 2023
- 8 female births in 2023
- Peak: 2009 (18 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Samai on both sides of the split. Of the 326 people counted with this name, 87 were male (26.7%) and 239 were female (73.3%).
Popularity
Samai: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Samai from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 79 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
Samai 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 Samai during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Samais live
Origin
Meaning and history of Samai
The given name Samai has its origins in the Thai language and culture, dating back to the ancient Siamese kingdoms of Southeast Asia. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "samaya," which means "time" or "season." The name is believed to have been used as early as the 7th century CE during the Dvaravati period, when Indian cultural and religious influences were strong in the region.
Samai is a unisex name, although it has been more commonly used for males throughout history. In ancient Thai society, the name was often given to children born during auspicious times or seasons, as a way of honoring the significance of the moment. It was seen as a way to bestow blessings and good fortune upon the child.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Samai can be found in the Ramkhamhaeng inscription, a famous stone inscription from the 13th century CE, during the reign of King Ramkhamhaeng the Great of the Sukhothai Kingdom. This historical document is considered one of the earliest examples of the Thai script and language.
Over the centuries, several notable figures have borne the name Samai. One such individual was Samai Chaloemla (1904-1965), a renowned Thai painter and sculptor who played a significant role in the development of modern Thai art. Another was Samai Khampila (1920-1988), a celebrated writer and novelist who contributed greatly to the Thai literary canon.
In the field of politics, Samai Tingsabadh (1885-1939) was a prominent Thai politician and diplomat who served as the Minister of Foreign Affairs and later as the Prime Minister of Thailand in the early 20th century. Samai Petta (1894-1970) was a revered Buddhist monk and scholar who played a crucial role in the revival of traditional Thai Buddhist practices and teachings.
Additionally, Samai Hinsarn (1919-2000) was a respected Thai artist and educator who helped shape the country's art education system and promoted traditional Thai art forms. These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have carried the name Samai throughout history, demonstrating its enduring presence and significance in Thai culture.
People
Samai + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Samai 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
Samai: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Samai?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 175 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Samai 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 1,958,596 US residents.
Is Samai a common name?
We classify Samai as "Very Rare". It ranks above 72.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 177 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Samai most popular?
The single biggest year for Samai was 2009, when 18 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Samai 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 Samai in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 323 people with the name Samai, or 0.11 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #28,012 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 Samai 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 Samai?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Samai on both sides of the split. Of the 326 people counted with this name, 87 were male (26.7%) and 239 were female (73.3%). 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 Samai?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Samai is Hispanic at 40.6%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (27.6%) and Black (20.4%). 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 Samai most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Samai in the 2020 Census, accounting for 40.6% (131 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 Samai in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Samai a female name?
Yes, 96.6% of people registered as Samai 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 Samai still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Samai 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 Samai 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 Samai as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people have the name Samai on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.