Samanth
A feminine name of Sanskrit origin meaning "peaceful".
Name Census estimates that about 248 living Americans carry the first name Samanth. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Samanth today is around 39 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Samanth births was 1988 (31 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Samanth. 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
248
~ 1 in 1,382,074 Americans
Peak year
1988
31 babies that year
Average age
39
years old
2007 SSA rank
#19,981
Tracked since 1965
Census
Samanth in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 826 people with the first name Samanth, which placed it at #14,291 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
#14,291
National first-name rank
People counted
826
826 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
70.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Samanth
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Samanth is White at 70.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (14.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (6.1%). 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 Samanth 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 Samanth at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White70.6% · 583
- Hispanic or Latino14.3% · 118
- Asian and Pacific Islander6.1% · 50
- Black or African American4.2% · 35
- Two or more races3.9% · 32
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.0% · 8
Popularity
Samanth: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Samanth from the 1960s through to the 2000s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 130 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Samanth 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 Samanth during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Samanths live
Origin
Meaning and history of Samanth
The name Samanth has its origins in the Sanskrit language, which was the classical language of ancient India. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "samantha," which means "level," "even," or "calm." The name likely emerged during the ancient Vedic period in India, spanning from around 1500 BCE to 600 BCE.
In Hindu mythology, Samanth is associated with the concept of equanimity and inner peace. It is believed that the name was inspired by the idea of maintaining a balanced and tranquil state of mind, which was a central tenet in many ancient Indian philosophical and spiritual traditions.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Samanth can be found in the Mahabharata, a Sanskrit epic that dates back to around the 8th century BCE. In this ancient text, Samanth is mentioned as the name of a sage or rishi who was renowned for his wisdom and spiritual attainment.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Samanth. One of the earliest was Samanth Chandrasekhar (c. 870 CE - 936 CE), an Indian mathematician and astronomer who made significant contributions to the fields of algebra and calculus.
Another prominent individual with this name was Samanth Gupta (c. 1200 CE - 1280 CE), a Hindu philosopher and poet who wrote extensively on the concepts of love, devotion, and spiritual enlightenment.
In the 16th century, Samanth Singh (1522 CE - 1589 CE) was a legendary warrior and ruler of the Rajput clan in northern India. He is celebrated for his bravery and military prowess in defending his kingdom against invading forces.
During the 18th century, Samanth Bharati (1720 CE - 1792 CE) was a renowned Tamil poet and scholar who played a crucial role in reviving and promoting the Tamil language and literature.
More recently, Samanth Subramanian (born 1982) is a contemporary Indian writer and journalist who has gained recognition for his works exploring themes of culture, history, and identity in modern India.
While the name Samanth has its roots in ancient Sanskrit and Hindu traditions, it has transcended linguistic and cultural boundaries over time, with individuals from various backgrounds and regions adopting this name.
People
Samanth + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Samanth 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
Samanth: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Samanth?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 248 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Samanth 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 1,382,074 US residents.
Is Samanth a common name?
We classify Samanth as "Very Rare". It ranks above 77% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 262 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Samanth most popular?
The single biggest year for Samanth was 1988, when 31 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Samanth is about 39 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Samanth in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 826 people with the name Samanth, or 0.27 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #14,291 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 Samanth 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 Samanth?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Samanth leans strongly female. 793 people counted with this name were female (95.4%), compared with 38 male bearers (4.6%). 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 Samanth?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Samanth is White at 70.6%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (14.3%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (6.1%). 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 Samanth most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Samanth in the 2020 Census, accounting for 70.6% (583 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 Samanth in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Samanth a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Samanth 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 Samanth still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Samanth 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 Samanth 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 share the name Samanth?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.