Samer
A masculine Arabic name meaning "conversant" or "sociable companion".
Name Census estimates that about 1,404 living Americans carry the first name Samer. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Samer today is around 31 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Samer births was 1993 (55 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Samer. 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
1.4K
~ 1 in 244,127 Americans
Peak year
1993
55 babies that year
Average age
31
years old
2024 SSA rank
#8,182
Tracked since 1966
Gender
Gender distribution for Samer
Out of the 1,448 babies given the name Samer since 1880, 99.7% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Samer as a male name
- Ranked #8,182 in 2024
- 10 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1994 (53 births)
Samer as a female name
- Ranked #15,283 in 1993
- 5 female births in 1993
- Peak: 1993 (5 births)
Popularity
Samer: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Samer from the 1960s through to the 2020s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1990s, with 441 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
Samer 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 Samer during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Samers live
The SSA's state-level files cover 8 states and territories. California, Illinois, New York recorded the most babies named Samer, while Virginia, Texas, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 45 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Samer
The name Samer is of Arabic origin, derived from the Semitic root word "samara," which means "to converse at night" or "to hold night conversations." This name has its roots in the ancient Middle Eastern cultures and can be traced back to pre-Islamic times.
In the early days of Islam, the name Samer was often associated with scholars and intellectuals who would engage in late-night discussions and debates on various subjects. It was considered a name befitting those who valued knowledge and wisdom.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Samer can be found in the "Kitab al-Aghani" (Book of Songs), a monumental anthology of Arabic poetry and literary anecdotes compiled in the 9th century CE by Abu al-Faraj al-Isfahani.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Samer. One such individual was Samer bin Habib (born around 720 CE), a renowned Arab poet and scholar from Kufa, Iraq, who was known for his mastery of the Arabic language and his contributions to literature.
Another famous bearer of the name was Samer bin Saeed (born around 885 CE), a renowned Arab mathematician and astronomer from Baghdad. He made significant contributions to the fields of trigonometry and spherical geometry, and his works were widely studied and referenced by scholars throughout the Islamic world.
In the 11th century, Samer bin Ahmed al-Shahrazuri (born around 1035 CE) was a prominent Islamic philosopher and theologian from Shahrazur, modern-day Iraq. He was known for his writings on various philosophical and religious topics, and his works were widely read and discussed among scholars of his time.
During the 12th century, Samer bin Ali al-Dimashqi (born around 1150 CE) was a respected Arab historian and geographer from Damascus. He authored several books on the history and geography of the Middle East, which remain valuable sources of information for researchers and scholars today.
In more recent times, Samer Issawi (1923-2016) was a prominent Arab economist and academic from Lebanon. He made significant contributions to the study of economic development in the Middle East and was widely regarded as one of the leading experts in his field.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have borne the name Samer throughout history, reflecting its rich cultural heritage and association with scholarship, wisdom, and intellectual pursuits.
People
Samer + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Samer 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
Samer: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Samer?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,404 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Samer 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 244,127 US residents.
Is Samer a common name?
We classify Samer as "Rare". It ranks above 92.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,448 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Samer most popular?
The single biggest year for Samer was 1993, when 55 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Samer is about 31 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Samer a male name?
Yes, 99.7% of people registered as Samer in the SSA data are male. 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.
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.