Wednesday, September 24, 2014

Usual Nickname, Unexpected Name--Sam

I was surprised to find that Samuel & Samantha are currently ranked #25 & 29 in the US (for boys & girls, respectively, of course). Admittedly, they peaked 20-30 years ago, and have been dropping since, but still--30 years is decent staying power for a girls' name! Most don't stick around that long.
Of course, all this means that you probably know a Sam or two of either gender (or both), so finding new ways to get to spunky, solid Sam is understandable.
(note: I did start to delve into boy-Sam possibilities on a previous post, so if you feel a bit of déjà vu, you're not crazy)

Boys:
  • Bassam (bah-SAHM, Arabic)--"smiling"
  • Isamu (ee-sah-moo, Japanese)--"courage"
  • Salman (SAL-mahn, Arabic)--"safe"
  • Samad (sam-AHD, Arabic)--"eternal"
  • Samang (sahm-ANG, Khmer)--"lucky"
  • Samay (sam-EYE, Khmer)--"daydream"
  • Sambor (SAM-bor, Polish)
  • Samir (sah-MEER, Arabic, Hindi)
  • Samson (SAM-son, English)--from Hebrew "sun". Another form is Sampson.
  • Samuli (SAH-moo-lee, Finnish)--form of Samuel
  • Stamatis (stah-MAH-tis, Greek)--another form is Stamatios.

Girls:
  • Belisama (bel-ee-SAH-mah, Gaulish mythology)--poss. "brightest one"
  • Gethsemane (geth-SEM-ah-nee, [Biblical] Greek)
  • Ibtisam (ib-tee-SAM, Arabic)--"smile"
  • Psamathe (SAM-ah-thee, [Ancient] Greek)--"sand goddess". Another form is Psamathea
  • Salima (sah-LEE-mah, Arabic)--"safe"
  • Samar (SAM-ar, Arabic)
  • Samara (sah-MAHR-ah, sam-EHR-ah, English)
  • Samaria (sah-MAHR-ee-rah, sah-MEHR-ee-ah, [Biblical] Hebrew)
  • Samika (SAM-ik-ah, Hindi)
  • Samina (sah-MEEN-ah, Arabic)--"healthy"
  • Samira (sah-MEER-ah, Arabic)
  • Samiya (sah-MEE-yah, Arabic)--"sublime, supreme". Also transliterated as Samia.
  • Samuela (sam-WEL-ah, Italian)--feminine of Samuel
  • Samuline (sah-moo-LEE-neh, Norwegian)--feminine of Samuel
  • Stamatia (stah-MAH-tee-ah, Greek)

Unisex:
  • Masami (mah-sah-mee, Japanese)

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