Name of the Week: Samantha

 

Origin:

Samantha is a given name with obscure origins. The common meaning often given is that it is a feminine form of the Hebrew name Samuel. This doesn't however seem very likely, given that Samuelina or Samuela have often been preferred as feminisations. Some suggest that it is a blending of Hebrew Samuel and Greek Anthea, but blendings of this kind usually start and are popularised in literature -- especially poetry -- and no such reference for Samantha is apparent.  The place where Samantha is most prevalent early on is the states of New England in America, and this may be the clue to its origins. New England was home to Dutch settlers as well as English, and Dutch influence (and even the language) remained even after the British gained control.  The most convincing theory for Samantha's origin* lies with the Dutch name Sijmentje, likely brought to New England and later anglicised. Sijmentje is the feminine form of Sjimen, itself the Dutch form of the Germanic name Sigismund -- sigi "victory" and mund "protection, defence." Samantha is also a (completely unrelated) Sri-Lankan masculine name, taken from the indigenous god Saman (also Samantha and Sumana) whose name means "the rising morning sun".

Usage:

Burial in Westbury On Severn, 1697 (click to enlarge) A handful of transcribed records for Samantha in 17th century England date from 1633, however these are a little suspect. Whenever I have looked at original scans for these transcribed records, the name has clearly been misread by modern eyes. Early modern English was not only consistent in its spelling, the letters used were different to what we use now. As we can see from the image (right) the top name, that has been transcribed as Samantha Shing, clearly starts with a 'J', as it matches that of John below and James at the bottom, and ends with an 'e'. Bristol Mercury - Saturday 16 May 1863 (click to enlarge) We do most certainly find Samantha in established use in America by the 18th century, especially in New England. Most of the few references to the name "Samantha" in British newspapers in the 19th century are in articles concerning New England states (see right).  The earliest point of data for America is in 1880, at which point Samantha ranked #365. It declined after that to #538 in 1885, #720 in 1890, #814 in 1895 and #701 in 1900.  One possible influence is a series of ten books (1873-1914) by American satirist Marietta Holley featuring the adventures of a woman named Samantha Allen. The novels were published in Britain, but contemporary reviews aren't particularly favourable, mostly, it seems, because Brits struggled to understand the American dialect which much of the novels were written in.  It is for this reason perhaps that Samantha didn't take off here at the same time. Births in England and Wales show that it was used sparingly over the 19th and early 20th century, only being registered once in 1855, 1860, 1861, 1877, 1879, 1880, 1881, 1889, 1892, 1895, 1903, 1921 and 1951. Thirteen times in 120 years.  It wasn't until the late 1950s that Samantha began to rise, and did so remarkably quickly thanks to references in popular culture. The 1956 film High Society featured Grace Kelly in the role of Tracy Samantha Lord and included the song I love you, Samantha; British actress Samantha Eggar (born Victoria Louise Samantha Marie Elizabeth Therese Eggar to a half-Dutch mother) had a few TV and film roles from 1961; and the name was also featuring in popular novels.  Then, of course, came Samantha Stephens, the principle character in the hit American TV show Bewitched in 1964 which ran successfully until 1972. This more than anything is what catapulted the name Samantha to stardom.  The Observer; Jan 15 1961 Births in England and Wales: 1955: 0 births 1956: 0 births <- High Society was released. 1957: 2 births 1958: 7 births 1959: 10 births 1960: 24 births 1961: 65 births 1962: 116 births 1963: 305 births 1964: 717 births <- The year Bewitched aired.  1965: 2417 births 1966: 4394 births 1967: 5525 births 1968: 5001 births 1969: 5294 births 1970: 6177 births Is it any wonder then, that Samantha reached #9 in 1974, despite not ranking in the top 100 at all in 1964. It was still at #8 a decade later in 1984, after which it gradually declined, reaching #20 in 1994, #51 in 1999 and #105 in 2004.  At the same time, Samantha was also in the top 20 in Australia in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s.  Strangely, in its native home of America, Samantha had only risen gradually to #128 by 1974 (when it was #9 in England and Wales) and didn't reach the US top 10 until 1988. However, it stayed there until 2005, peaking at #3 in 1998. It is now also on a slow decline there, but still remains up at #33.  In 2014, Samantha ranked #300 (156 births) in England and Wales, #282 (15 births) in Scotland, and #573 (2 births) in Northern Ireland.

Famous Bearers:

Contemporary: * Samantha Eggar (b. 1939), British actress. * Samantha Bond (b. 1961), British actress. * Samantha Power (b. 1970) is an Irish-American academic, author and diplomat. * Samantha Morton (b. 1977), British actress. * Samantha Cole (b. 1978), American dance-pop singer/songwriter. * Samantha Ruth Prabhu (b. 1987), prominent Indian actress and model. Literature and Other Media: * Samantha Allen, the principle character in Marietta Holley's novels.  * Samantha Stephens, the principle character in the TV show Bewitched. * Samantha Jones, character in the television show Sex and the City * Samantha Carter, character in the television show Stargate SG-1. * "Lady Samantha" (1969), a song by Elton John

Variants:

Samanta (Spanish, Italian)

Pronunciation:

sə-MAN-thə [key]

Possible  diminutives:

Sam, Sammy

Sibling Names:

Claire     Natalie     Laura     Rachel      Victoria     Fiona  Nicholas     Andrew     Michael     Callum     Matthew     Jonathan

Name Lists:

N/A

  

If you like Samantha you may also like:   Amanda, Gabrielle, Jennifer, Danielle, Melissa, Rebecca, Stephanie, Heather, Susannah, Abigail

 

Thanks to Maisie for requesting this post.