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Samantha

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Samantha
For other uses, see Samantha (disambiguation).

Samantha is an English feminine given name that is now also in use worldwide. Some etymologists have suggested Samantha might be a derivative of Semanthe, a similar name likely invented by English playwright Sir John Suckling for a character in his play Aglaura, which was first staged in England in 1637.[1] Semanthe was later used by other English or Irish writers for characters in works of fiction published in the 1600s and 1700s, including for a character in the 1682 tragic play The Loyal Brother by Irish dramatist Thomas Southerne, a character in the 1690 tragic play The Treacherous Brothers by English playwright George Powell, a character in the 1699 tragic play Friendship Improved by Anglo-Irish dramatist Charles Hopkins, a character in the 1705 tragic play Ulysses by English dramatist Nicholas Rowe, and a character in the 1718 historical tragic play Scipo Africanus by English dramatist Charles Beckingham, and in 1758 for an English translation of the works of Françoise d'Aubigné, Marquise de Maintenon. In 1712, the name Semanthe was used in an article in the English periodical The Spectator. Irish poet Mary Barber used the name Samantha in a poem published in her 1734 Poems on several occasions.[2]

Quick Facts Pronunciation, Gender ...
Samantha
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Elizabeth Montgomery as Samantha Stephens from Bewitched
Pronunciation/səˈmænθə/ sə-MAN-thə
GenderPrimarily feminine
Origin
MeaningPossibly a literary, created name derived from a combination of Samuel and Anthea; also a Sri Lankan masculine name derived from the name of the deity Saman
Other names
Nickname(s)Sam, Sami, Sammi, Sammie, Sammy
Related namesAnthea, Samuel, Semanthe, Sigmund; Saman
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Grace Kelly portrayed Tracy Samantha Lord in the 1956 American romantic comedy musical film High Society. Kelly is pictured with Louis Armstrong on the film set.

The etymology of the name Samantha is uncertain.[3] [4] Speculation has suggested an origin from the masculine given name Samuel[5] and anthos, the Greek word for "flower".[6] One theory is that it was a feminine form of Samuel, to which the already existing feminine name Anthea was added.[5] Another theory is that it is an American English version of the Dutch name Sijmentje, a feminine form of Sjimen, the Dutch form of Sigmund.[7] The name Semanthe was used by 17th and 18th century writers along with other character names that sounded Greek but did not have a history of use in Greece, or that sounded exotic to an English audience. It might also have been inspired by existing classical names such as Semele and Semiramis in combination with the Greek anthos. The dominant pronunciation of the name might have shifted from Semanthe to Samantha and English speakers might later have associated the name with Samuel.[8]

The usual English diminutives of the name are Sam, Sami, Sammi, Sammie, and Sammy. Multiple spellings and variants of the name have also been in use since the 1700s.

Samantha is also in use as a masculine name in Sri Lanka, where it is one of the forms of the name of the god Saman. The Sri Lankan masculine name is unrelated to the English feminine name.

Usage

Summarize
Perspective

Semanthe, Samantha and other phonetic variants such as Samanth, Samanthe, Samanthia, Samanthy, Semantha and Semanthee were in use in the 18th and 19th centuries in England and the United States.[9][10]

Samantha remained a rare name in the English-speaking world until the 1873 publication of the first novel in a series by American satirist Marietta Holley, featuring the adventures of Samantha Allen, the wife of Josiah Allen.[4] The series led to the rise in the name's popularity, ranking among the top 1,000 names for girls in the United States from 1880, the earliest year for which records are available, to 1902.[11]

The name was out of fashion in the United States for the majority of the first half of the 20th century but reappeared among the top 1,000 names for girls in 1958, when it ranked in 998th position, and in 1959, when it ranked in 993rd place. Those rankings followed the release of the 1956 film High Society, in which Grace Kelly played a character with the middle name Samantha. The movie introduced a song titled "I Love You, Samantha" by the famed American composer Cole Porter.

After 1959, the name fell off the top 1,000 list again until 1964, when it reappeared in 472nd place and leapt another 293 places to 179th place in 1965, coinciding with the 1964 debut of the popular American television show Bewitched, featuring as a lead character a young witch named Samantha Stephens.[12][13]

The name has remained consistently popular in the United States since the 1960s. It has ranked among the top 200 names for girls since 1965 and was among the top 100 names for girls between 1976 and 2020. It peaked in popularity between 1986 and 2006, when it was among the ten most popular names for American newborn girls. It reached the pinnacle of its popularity in 1998, when it was the third most popular name for American newborn girls. It has since declined in popularity, but is still well used.[14]

The name also increased in use in other English-speaking countries in the mid-1960s due to influences such as the popular television series Bewitched. Samantha had been in rare, occasional use in the United Kingdom in the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century. As in the United States, the name increased in use following the release of the film High Society in 1956. It was among the top 100 names for British girls in 1964, the year Bewitched first aired, and was among the top 10 names for British girls throughout the 1970s and 1980s. It was among the top 20 names for girls in Australia from the 1970s through the 1990s.[15]

Another popular culture influence was the song “Lady Samantha”, which was released in January 1969 by English musician Elton John and covered in 1969 by American band Three Dog Night and released as a single in 1969 by New Zealand singer Shane Hales. The song was a hit in New Zealand.

The name has continued to be well-used in Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom as well as in Brazil, Chile, Czech Republic, France, Italy, Mexico, Netherlands, Philippines, and Spain.[16] Samanta is a variant of the name in use in Italy, Latvia, Poland, Portugal, and Spain, and elsewhere.[17]

Transliterations

Notable people

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Male

Fictional characters

References

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