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I always had a soft spot for the name Samantha, maybe because it's the name of one of my favorite female characters. I also really like feminine names that have masculine diminutives, and Sam is right up there (though I should be clear that the fact that Sam is a boys name is not the reason I like Samantha, just a bonus to my style sensibility). That said, I do think that it's probably one of my less original favorites, and usually group it in the pretty-but-a-little-too-common category with the likes of Elizabeth. I think that it may be facing a decline though, and perhaps a little Sam girl will be more of a novelty than it was in my childhood. Also, I think that spicing it up with a more uncommon middle name can really help the attractiveness. I usually go with Samantha Elise, although Elise is becoming quite popular as well.