Sam Wood
There are approximately 44 people named Sam Wood living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 7,789,871 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Sam with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Wood. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and ancestry information.
Expected bearers
44
1 in 7,789,871
Named Sam
52K
Alive today
Named Wood
291K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 52K
Rarity: Uncommon
Gender: Male
Peak year: 1918
Average age: 51
Estimated bearers: 291K
Rarity: Common
Census rank: #84
Per 100K: 84.99
Top ancestry: White (88.7%)
First name trend
Sam: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Sam. The peak year was 1918 with 2,528 births. The average person named Sam today is 51 years old.
Babies born per year
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Wood surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Wood, from the 2010 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 88.7%.
- White88.7%
- Black or African American5.6%
- Hispanic or Latino2.4%
- Two or more races1.8%
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8%
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7%
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Sam has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0152% of the US population, based on 52,108 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
The surname Wood appears at a rate of 84.99 per 100,000 residents in the 2010 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0850%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 44 people with the full name Sam Wood. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
Related
Other people named Sam
Related
Other people with the surname Wood
FAQ
Sam Wood: questions and answers
How many people are named Sam Wood?
We estimate approximately 44 people in the United States share the full name Sam Wood. That works out to about 1 in 7,789,871 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0152%) with the surname frequency (84.99 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Sam Wood?
We classify Sam Wood as "Very Rare". About 1 in 7,789,871 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Sam a male or female name?
Sam is predominantly male. Out of 128,347 total SSA registrations, 98.8% were male and 1.2% were female. See the full Sam profile for detailed gender data.
Where does this data come from?
First-name data comes from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files (1880 to 2024). Surname data comes from the 2010 US Census Bureau decennial surname tables. Living-bearer estimates use CDC actuarial life tables to adjust for mortality. Read the full methodology.