Date
Gender Masculine
Usage English, French, German, Dutch, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish, Czech, Slovak, Romanian, Swedish, Norwegian, Danish, Finnish, Jewish, Amharic, Biblical
Pronounced Pron. /ˈsæm.juː.əl/(English) /ˈsæm.jəl/(English) /sa.mɥɛl/(French) /ˈzaː.mu̯eːl/(German) /ˈsaː.my.ɛl/(Dutch) /sa.ˈmwel/(Spanish) /sɐ.mu.ˈɛɫ/(European Portuguese) /sa.mu.ˈɛw/(Brazilian Portuguese) /sa.ˈmu.ɛl/(Polish) /ˈsa.mu.ɛl/(Czech, Slovak) SA-moo-ehl(Swedish) /ˈsɑ.mu.el/(Finnish)
Meaning & History
From the Hebrew name שְׁמוּאֵל (Shemuʾel) meaning "name of God", from the roots שֵׁם (shem) meaning "name" and אֵל (ʾel) meaning "God". Other interpretations have the first root being שָׁמַע (shamaʿ) meaning "to hear" leading to a meaning of "God has heard". As told in the Books of Samuel in the Old Testament, Samuel was the last of the ruling judges. He led the Israelites during a period of domination by the Philistines, who were ultimately defeated in battle at Mizpah. Later he anointed Saul to be the first king of Israel, and even later anointed his successor David.As a Christian name, Samuel came into common use after the Protestant Reformation. It has been consistently popular in the English-speaking world, ranking yearly in the top 100 names in the United States (as recorded since 1880) and performing similarly well in the United Kingdom.Famous bearers include English poet Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834), American inventor Samuel Morse (1791-1872), Irish writer Samuel Beckett (1906-1989), and American actor Samuel L. Jackson (1948-). This was also the real name, Samuel Clemens, of the American author Mark Twain (1835-1910).