Samora
An Arabic name meaning "fruitful" or "prosperous tree".
Name Census estimates that about 585 living Americans carry the first name Samora. It is a predominantly female name (99.2% of registrations). The average person named Samora today is around 14 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Samora births was 2021 (42 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Samora. 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
585
~ 1 in 585,905 Americans
Peak year
2021
42 babies that year
Average age
14
years old
1976 SSA rank
#4,628
Tracked since 1976
Census
Samora in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 501 people with the first name Samora, which placed it at #20,571 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
#20,571
National first-name rank
People counted
501
501 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
72.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Samora
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Samora is Black at 72.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (11.0%) and Two or More Races (7.4%). 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 Samora 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 Samora at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American72.3% · 362
- Hispanic or Latino11.0% · 55
- Two or more races7.4% · 37
- White6.6% · 33
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.4% · 7
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 7
Gender
Gender distribution for Samora
Out of the 592 babies given the name Samora since 1880, 99.2% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Samora as a male name
- Ranked #6,324 in 1976
- 5 male births in 1976
- Peak: 1976 (5 births)
Samora as a female name
- Ranked #4,628 in 2024
- 30 female births in 2024
- Peak: 2021 (42 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Samora leans strongly female. 410 people counted with this name were female (81.0%), compared with 96 male bearers (19.0%).
Popularity
Samora: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Samora from the 1970s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 217 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Samora 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 Samora during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Samoras live
The SSA's state-level files cover 3 states and territories. Florida, North Carolina, Texas recorded the most babies named Samora, while Texas, North Carolina, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 8 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Samora
The name Samora is thought to have its origins in the Arabic language, derived from the word "samara" meaning "fruit" or "tree." It is believed to have emerged during the medieval period in regions of the Middle East and North Africa influenced by Arabic culture.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Samora can be found in 12th century Islamic texts, where it was used to refer to a prominent scholar and theologian from Andalusia, Samora ibn Malik al-Gharnati (1088-1169). This scholar was known for his contributions to the study of Islamic jurisprudence and his influential writings on Maliki fiqh.
In the 13th century, the name Samora gained further recognition with the life of Samora ibn Yahya al-Razi (1210-1292), a renowned Persian poet and philosopher. His poetic works, which often explored themes of spirituality and mysticism, were widely celebrated and influential within the Persian literary tradition.
Moving into the 14th century, the name Samora appears in the annals of Ottoman history with Samora Pasha (1320-1388), a prominent military commander and statesman who served under Sultan Murad I. Samora Pasha played a pivotal role in the expansion of the Ottoman Empire, leading numerous successful military campaigns and contributing to the consolidation of Ottoman power in the region.
In the 16th century, the name Samora was associated with Samora ibn Abdallah al-Maghribi (1492-1557), a renowned Moroccan scholar and author. His extensive writings on subjects ranging from astronomy to mathematics and philosophy earned him widespread recognition and influence throughout the Islamic world.
Another notable figure bearing the name Samora was the Mozambican revolutionary leader and president, Samora Machel (1933-1986). Machel played a crucial role in Mozambique's struggle for independence from Portuguese colonial rule and later served as the first president of the newly independent nation from 1975 until his untimely death in a plane crash in 1986.
While the name Samora has its roots in the Arabic language and Islamic tradition, it has transcended cultural boundaries and found usage across various regions and time periods, often associated with individuals who have made significant contributions in fields such as scholarship, literature, military leadership, and political activism.
People
Samora + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Samora 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
Samora: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Samora?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 585 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Samora 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 585,905 US residents.
Is Samora a common name?
We classify Samora as "Very Rare". It ranks above 86% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 592 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Samora most popular?
The single biggest year for Samora was 2021, when 42 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Samora 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 Samora in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 501 people with the name Samora, or 0.17 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #20,571 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 Samora 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 Samora?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Samora leans strongly female. 410 people counted with this name were female (81.0%), compared with 96 male bearers (19.0%). 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 Samora?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Samora is Black at 72.3%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (11.0%) and Two or More Races (7.4%). 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 Samora most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Samora in the 2020 Census, accounting for 72.3% (362 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 Samora in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Samora a female name?
Yes, 99.2% of people registered as Samora 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 Samora still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Samora 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 Samora 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 the name Samora?
If you just want to know how many people share the name Samora, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.