Samantha
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name from Hebrew. It was recorded in the 17th century in England. Most probably a feminine form of Samuel, possibly influenced by Anthea. Other suggestions include Aramaic ܫܡܥܢܬܐ (šemʿanta, “listener”, noun), from ܫܡܥ. In India, Samantha can be interpreted as a variant spelling of Samanta, from Sanskrit समन्त (samanta, “universal, adjacent”).
Source: Wiktionary, English entry for Samantha (CC BY-SA 4.0). This is the origin of the name in English; families in Sweden may have taken it from another language.
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Samantha has been fairly steady over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2001. The figures are for this exact spelling; other spellings of the name are counted on their own.
Years with fewer than two babies (fewer than ten before 2004) show as zero in the chart and as – in the table.
Show the figures
| Year | Girls |
|---|---|
| 1998 | 21 |
| 1999 | 12 |
| 2000 | 14 |
| 2001 | 28 |
| 2002 | 19 |
| 2003 | 19 |
| 2004 | 8 |
| 2005 | 11 |
| 2006 | 14 |
| 2007 | 17 |
| 2008 | 6 |
| 2009 | 17 |
| 2010 | 16 |
| 2011 | 21 |
| 2012 | 19 |
| 2013 | 17 |
| 2014 | 19 |
| 2015 | 12 |
| 2016 | 13 |
| 2017 | 9 |
| 2018 | 10 |
| 2019 | 8 |
| 2020 | 7 |
| 2021 | 11 |
| 2022 | 9 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Women and girls |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 311 |
| 2000 | 326 |
| 2001 | 366 |
| 2002 | 391 |
| 2003 | 409 |
| 2004 | 416 |
| 2005 | 427 |
| 2006 | 448 |
| 2007 | 467 |
| 2008 | 491 |
| 2009 | 521 |
| 2010 | 533 |
| 2011 | 563 |
| 2012 | 582 |
| 2013 | 605 |
| 2014 | 631 |
| 2015 | 651 |
| 2016 | 672 |
| 2017 | 703 |
| 2018 | 727 |
| 2019 | 748 |
| 2020 | 760 |
Samantha in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Samantha.Hi! My name is Samantha.
- Har du träffat Samantha? Hon började jobba här i måndags.Have you met Samantha? She started working here on Monday.
- Vet du om Samantha kommer på festen på lördag?Do you know if Samantha is coming to the party on Saturday?
- Samanthas mamma är lärare.Samantha's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Samanthas mamma is Samantha's mum.
More names
Questions about Samantha
How do you pronounce Samantha in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Samantha in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Samantha mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name from Hebrew. It was recorded in the 17th century in England. Most probably a feminine form of Samuel, possibly influenced by Anthea. Other suggestions include Aramaic ܫܡܥܢܬܐ (šemʿanta, “listener”, noun), from ܫܡܥ. In India, Samantha can be interpreted as a variant spelling of Samanta, from Sanskrit समन्त (samanta, “universal, adjacent”).
How popular is Samantha in Sweden?
9 babies were named Samantha in 2022. In 2020, 760 people in Sweden had Samantha as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been fairly steady lately and peaked in 2001 in the years SCB covers (1998–2022).
Popularity figures: Statistics Sweden (SCB), name statistics (BE0001) from the Statistical Database, released as open data under CC0. Each spelling is counted as its own name, as SCB does. SCB's open name statistics end with babies named in 2022 and the population on 31 December 2020; SCB stopped producing name statistics in 2024 and now points to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for newer figures.
Origins, IPA and recordings: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), via kaikki.org; recordings from Lingua Libre on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). Lingolib is not affiliated with SCB or Wiktionary. Sources last checked 7 October 2026.