Given name & surname
Samar
“one who provides evening conversation”
Samar is used as a given name and a surname. One Arabic interpretation is “one who provides evening conversation.”
Original Arabicسمر
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Arabic interpretation is “one who provides evening conversation.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Arabic.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1972. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Samar through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 2,385
- 1,278 boys · 1,107 girls
- Most popular year
- 2021
- 117 babies
- 2025
- 89
- #2,329 for boys · #4,736 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- 0%
- Steady
Boys, girls and both
The balance of boys and girls given this name has shifted over time. Recent births are 72% boys.
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 60 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 2,329 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was virtually unchanged in 2021–2025 compared with 2016–2020. It also appeared in 29 birth records for girls in 2025. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (17). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 3,924 as a first name in 2020; 355 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Samar’s family of names
Samar has a related form in Samara. Samar has a related form in Samare. Samar has a related form in Samarr.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 4
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 3
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
See also 2
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Samar
- Samar YazbekSyrian writer and journalistborn 1970
- Samar BadawiSaudi Arabian feministborn 1981
- Samar AmerEgyptian freestyle wrestlerborn 1995
- Samar Samir MezghanniTunisian children's writerborn 1988
- Samar NassarJordanian Footballerborn 1978
- Ayten AmerEgyptian actressborn 1986
- Samar Abu EloufPalestinian photojournalist (born 1983)
- Samar Ben KoellebTunisian paralympic athleteborn 1995
- Samar BanerjeeIndian footballer1930–2022
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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