Samyra
Feminine name with Arabic origins meaning "companion" or "friend".
Name Census estimates that about 1,083 living Americans carry the first name Samyra. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Samyra today is around 17 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Samyra births was 2007 (57 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Samyra. 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 Samyra with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Samyra is a relatively new arrival in the SSA data. The average bearer is just 17 years old, meaning it gained most of its traction in the last two decades.
People living today
1.1K
~ 1 in 316,486 Americans
Peak year
2007
57 babies that year
Average age
17
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,485
Tracked since 1976
Census
Samyra in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 801 people with the first name Samyra, which placed it at #14,645 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
#14,645
National first-name rank
People counted
801
801 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
58.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Samyra
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Samyra is Black at 58.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (16.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (11.1%). 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 Samyra 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 Samyra at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American58.7% · 470
- Hispanic or Latino16.4% · 131
- Asian and Pacific Islander11.1% · 89
- White7.2% · 58
- Two or more races6.0% · 48
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 5
Popularity
Samyra: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Samyra 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 387 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2000s peak, Samyra remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Samyra 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 Samyra during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Samyras live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Samyra, while Pennsylvania, Louisiana, Michigan recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 23 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Samyra
The name Samyra is of Arabic origin and has its roots in the Semitic languages spoken in the Middle East and North Africa. It is believed to have derived from the Arabic word "samara," which means "fruit" or "date fruit." This connection suggests that the name may have been associated with fertility, abundance, and prosperity in ancient times.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Samyra can be found in Islamic history, where it was mentioned in texts from the 7th century AD. During this period, the name was particularly popular among Arab communities, reflecting their cultural and linguistic heritage.
Throughout history, several notable figures have borne the name Samyra. One of the most renowned is Samyra al-Kalbi (born in the 8th century AD), a celebrated Arab poet and scholar from Basra, Iraq. Her works were highly influential in the development of Arabic literature and poetry during the Abbasid Caliphate.
Another prominent figure was Samyra bint al-Hadrami (born in the 9th century AD), a prominent Islamic scholar and theologian from Yemen. Her contributions to the field of Islamic jurisprudence and hadith studies were highly regarded in her time and continue to be studied by scholars today.
In the 11th century, Samyra al-Ghazali (born in 1058 AD) was a notable female mystic and Sufi from Persia (modern-day Iran). She was known for her spiritual writings and teachings, which had a significant impact on the development of Sufism in the region.
Moving forward in time, Samyra al-Fassi (born in 1872) was a celebrated Moroccan educator and activist who played a pivotal role in promoting women's education and rights in her country during the early 20th century.
Lastly, Samyra Moussa (born in 1949) is a renowned Egyptian nuclear scientist and academic. She has made significant contributions to the field of nuclear physics and has held prominent positions at various international organizations, including the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
These examples demonstrate the diverse backgrounds and accomplishments of individuals who have carried the name Samyra throughout history, reflecting its enduring presence across various cultures and time periods.
People
Samyra + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Samyra 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
Samyra: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Samyra?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,083 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Samyra 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 316,486 US residents.
Is Samyra a common name?
We classify Samyra as "Rare". It ranks above 90.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,099 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Samyra most popular?
The single biggest year for Samyra was 2007, when 57 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Samyra is about 17 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Samyra in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 801 people with the name Samyra, or 0.27 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #14,645 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 Samyra 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 Samyra?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Samyra appears almost entirely female. Of the 799 people counted with this name, 99.9% 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 Samyra?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Samyra is Black at 58.7%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (16.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (11.1%). 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 Samyra most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Samyra in the 2020 Census, accounting for 58.7% (470 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 Samyra in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Samyra a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Samyra 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 Samyra still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Samyra 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 Samyra 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 Samyra as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Samyra on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.