Given name & surname
Samir
“a special man”
Samir is used as a given name and a surname. One Arabic interpretation is “a special man.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Arabic interpretation is “a special man.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Arabic.
How it developed
From Ottoman Turkish سمير (Samîr), from Arabic سَمِير.
Adapted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0)
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1957. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Samir through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 11,163
- 11,094 boys · 69 girls
- Most popular year
- 2023
- 493 babies
- 2025
- 434
- #643 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +31%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 434 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 643 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 31.5% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. In 2025, New York had the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (44). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 14,668 as a first name in 2020; 433 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.
Samir’s family of names
Samir has a feminine form in Samira. In English usage, Samir has a related form in Sameer. Samir has a related form in Samira.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: nicknames and forms.
Around the world
Samir has relatives in 5 languages. Lines run from its Arabic roots to each of them.
5 related names in 5 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 10
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
- Samiravariant
- Zamirvariant · Spanish
- Sameervariant · English
- Sameirvariant
- Samyrvariant
- Samerevariant
- Samiervariant
- Sammirlikely variant
Show 2 moreShow fewer
Spellings & scripts 3
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
See also 1
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Samir
- Samir NasriFrench footballer (born 1987)
- Samir HandanovićSlovenian association football player (born 1984)
- Samir AminEgyptian-French economist and political theorist (1931-2018)
- Samir UjkaniAlbanian-Kosovan footballerborn 1988
- Samir El MourabetMoroccan association football playerborn 2005
- Samir GeageaLebanese politicianborn 1952
- Samir JavadzadehAzerbaijani singerborn 1980
- Samir RifaiJordanian politicianborn 1966
- SamirBrazilian association football playerborn 1981
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Samir, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Amir
“a prince” · “from the treetop”
>99% boys
Ameer
“a prince” · “from the treetop”
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Nasir
“one who offers his support”
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Almir
“prince, commander”
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Cyrus
“a king”
99% boys · 1% girls
Cairo
“from the city in Egypt” · “one who is victorious; from the capital of Egypt”
95% boys · 5% girls
Sufyan
Sufyan is a masculine given name from Arabic.
>99% boys
Jasper
“one who holds the treasure”
98% boys · 2% girls