English

Proper noun

Samantha

1. A female given name.
   • 1876 Phebe Ann Hanaford, Women of the Century, page 525:

     These country girls, as they were called, had queer names, which added to the singularity of their appearance. Samantha, Triphena, Plumy, Leafy, Ruhamah, Lovey, and Florilla were among them.

   • 1888, Marietta Holley, Josiah Allen's Wife as a P.A. and P.I.: Samantha at the Centennial, page 577:

     "Its name is Samantha Jo, after Josiah and me. - - - If it had been a boy, we was layin' out to call it Josiah Sam, - Sam for Samantha."

   • 1967 Howard Fast, Samantha, I Books (2004), ISBN 0743479122, page 42:

     "Middle of the depression - who's going to give a kid a nutty name like Samantha? Today's another matter, but around then, from what I hear, people weren't thinking about these stylish names."

   • 1985 Bobbie Ann Mason, In Country, Harper&Row, ISBN 0060154691, pages 182, 183:

     But here's my favorite name: Samuel. It's from the Bible. If it's a girl, name it Samantha. That sounds like something in a prayer, doesn't it? I think it's a name in the Chronicles. I've been reading the Bible every night." - - -

     She found the Book of Chronicles and scanned it. - - - There was no Samantha in either the first or the second book of the Chronicles.

Usage notes

• Popular in the English-speaking world from the 1970s to the 2000s.

Related terms

• Sam
• Sammy
• Sami
• Sammie

Translations

German

Etymology

Borrowed from the English Samantha in the 1960s.

Proper noun

Samantha

1. A female given name.