Sami
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from Arabic, feminine equivalent Samiyah. Derived from Arabic سَامِي (sāmī), from the informal pronunciation of سَامٍ (sāmin, “high, exalted”).
Source: Wiktionary, English entry for Sami (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, Sami has been rising over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2021. 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 | Boys |
|---|---|
| 1998 | 24 |
| 1999 | 20 |
| 2000 | 16 |
| 2001 | 13 |
| 2002 | 21 |
| 2003 | 18 |
| 2004 | 15 |
| 2005 | 22 |
| 2006 | 15 |
| 2007 | 29 |
| 2008 | 25 |
| 2009 | 22 |
| 2010 | 39 |
| 2011 | 25 |
| 2012 | 35 |
| 2013 | 33 |
| 2014 | 41 |
| 2015 | 42 |
| 2016 | 36 |
| 2017 | 42 |
| 2018 | 30 |
| 2019 | 39 |
| 2020 | 46 |
| 2021 | 59 |
| 2022 | 53 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Women and girls | Men and boys |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | – | 1,393 |
| 2000 | – | 1,425 |
| 2001 | – | 1,473 |
| 2002 | – | 1,529 |
| 2003 | – | 1,569 |
| 2004 | – | 1,588 |
| 2005 | – | 1,622 |
| 2006 | – | 1,686 |
| 2007 | – | 1,749 |
| 2008 | – | 1,811 |
| 2009 | – | 1,858 |
| 2010 | – | 1,924 |
| 2011 | – | 1,984 |
| 2012 | – | 2,039 |
| 2013 | – | 2,112 |
| 2014 | – | 2,212 |
| 2015 | – | 2,329 |
| 2016 | – | 2,477 |
| 2017 | – | 2,579 |
| 2018 | 11 | 2,649 |
| 2019 | 12 | 2,717 |
| 2020 | 12 | 2,766 |
Sami in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Sami.Hi! My name is Sami.
- Sami ringde och sa att han blir lite sen.Sami called and said he'll be a bit late.
- Vet du om Sami kommer på festen på lördag?Do you know if Sami is coming to the party on Saturday?
- Samis mamma är lärare.Sami's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Samis mamma is Sami's mum.
Related names and other spellings
More names
Questions about Sami
How do you pronounce Sami in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Sami in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Sami mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from Arabic, feminine equivalent Samiyah. Derived from Arabic سَامِي (sāmī), from the informal pronunciation of سَامٍ (sāmin, “high, exalted”).
How popular is Sami in Sweden?
53 babies were named Sami in 2022. In 2020, 2,778 people in Sweden had Sami as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been rising lately and peaked in 2021 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.