Samarra
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly Arabic, meaning "pleasing" or "entertaining".
Name Census estimates that about 412 living Americans carry the first name Samarra. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Samarra today is around 20 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Samarra births was 2004 (43 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Samarra. 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 Samarra with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
412
~ 1 in 831,928 Americans
Peak year
2004
43 babies that year
Average age
20
years old
2024 SSA rank
#17,198
Tracked since 1976
Census
Samarra in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 407 people with the first name Samarra, which placed it at #23,894 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
#23,894
National first-name rank
People counted
407
407 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
41.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Samarra
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Samarra is Black at 41.5%. The next largest groups are White (26.5%) and Hispanic (14.3%). 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 Samarra 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 Samarra at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American41.5% · 169
- White26.5% · 108
- Hispanic or Latino14.3% · 58
- Two or more races13.0% · 53
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.7% · 11
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.0% · 8
Popularity
Samarra: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Samarra from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2000s, with 242 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
Samarra 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 Samarra during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Samarras live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. Texas, California, New York recorded the most babies named Samarra, while Ohio, New York, California recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 9 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Samarra
The name Samarra has its origins rooted in the Arabic language and culture. It is believed to have been derived from the word "samra," which means "dark" or "brown." This suggests that the name may have initially been used to describe someone with a darker complexion or hair color.
Historically, Samarra was the name of an ancient city located in modern-day Iraq, approximately 125 kilometers north of Baghdad. This city played a significant role in Islamic history, serving as the capital of the Abbasid Caliphate from 836 to 892 CE. The city's name is thought to have influenced the given name Samarra.
One of the earliest recorded examples of the name Samarra can be found in the writings of renowned Arab historian and geographer, Al-Muqaddasi, who lived from 945 to 1000 CE. He mentioned the city of Samarra in his work, "The Best Divisions for Knowledge of the Regions."
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Samarra. One such figure was Samarra bint Ghailan, a renowned Arab poet who lived during the 7th century CE. She was known for her eloquence and skill in composing poetry, and her works were widely celebrated in her time.
Another prominent figure with the name Samarra was Samarra al-Jazari, an Iraqi inventor and engineer who lived from 1136 to 1206 CE. He is credited with creating various advanced mechanical devices, including the first programmable humanoid robot and an early example of a musical automaton.
In the realm of literature, Samarra Khawaja was a celebrated Urdu poet and writer from British India, who lived from 1877 to 1950. Her poetry and literary works were widely acclaimed, and she played a significant role in the development of Urdu literature during the 20th century.
The name Samarra also found its way into the world of sports. Samarra Banu was a Bangladeshi sprinter and hurdler who represented her country in various international competitions, including the Olympic Games and Asian Games, from the late 1980s to the early 2000s.
Finally, Samarra Studer was a Swiss artist and sculptor who lived from 1920 to 2011. She was known for her abstract and minimalist works, which were exhibited in galleries and museums around the world.
These examples demonstrate the rich history and cultural significance of the name Samarra, which has been borne by individuals from various backgrounds and walks of life throughout the centuries.
People
Samarra + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Samarra 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
Samarra: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Samarra?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 412 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Samarra 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 831,928 US residents.
Is Samarra a common name?
We classify Samarra as "Very Rare". It ranks above 82.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 419 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Samarra most popular?
The single biggest year for Samarra was 2004, when 43 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Samarra is about 20 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Samarra in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 407 people with the name Samarra, or 0.13 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #23,894 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 Samarra 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 Samarra?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Samarra appears almost entirely female. Of the 403 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 Samarra?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Samarra is Black at 41.5%. The next largest groups are White (26.5%) and Hispanic (14.3%). 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 Samarra most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Samarra in the 2020 Census, accounting for 41.5% (169 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 Samarra in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Samarra a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Samarra 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 Samarra still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Samarra 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 Samarra 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 Samarra as a first name?
If you just want to know how many people have the name Samarra, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.