Samantha Van Steenis

Samantha (or the alternatively Samanta) is primarily used as a feminine given name. It was recorded in England in 1633 in Newton Regis, Warwickshire. It was also recorded in the 18th century in New England, but its etymology is uncertain.
Speculation (without evidence) has suggested an origin from the masculine given name Samuel and anthos, the Greek word for "flower".'' World Almanac'', 2009 edition pp. 697–698, Dr. Cleveland Kent Evans, Bellevue University One theory is that it was a feminine form of Samuel to which the already existing feminine name Anthea was added.

"Samantha" remained a rare name until the 1873 publication of the first novel in a series by Marietta Holley, featuring the adventures of a lady named "Samantha", wife of Josiah Allen. The series led to the rise in the name's popularity, ranking among the top 1,000 names for girls in the United States from 1880, the earliest year for which records are available, to 1902.

The name was out of fashion in the United States for the majority of the first half of the 20th century but reappeared among the top 1,000 names for girls in 1958, when it ranked in 998th position, and in 1959, when it ranked in 993rd place. It fell off the top 1,000 list again until 1964, when it reappeared in 472nd place and leapt another 293 places to 179th place in 1965, coinciding with the 1964 debut of the television show, ''Bewitched,'' featuring as a lead character a young witch named "Samantha Stephens".

The name has remained consistently popular in the United States since the 1960s. It has ranked among the top 200 names for girls since 1965 and among the top 100 names for girls since 1976. It was among the ten most popular names for American girls born between 1988 and 2006 and was among the top 100 names for American girls until 2020. It was the 105th most popular name for American girls born in 2021. It has also been well-used in other countries in Anglosphere, English-speaking countries and in Mexico.

In Sri Lanka, Samantha is used as a masculine given name, being one of the forms of the name of the god ''Saman (deity), Saman''. This usage has no known connection with the feminine version.

Transliterations

* Arabic language, Arabic: سمانثا (Samantha)
* Albanian language, Albanian: Samanthë, Samantë
* Armenian language, Armenian: Սամանթա (Samant'a), Սամանտա (Samanta)
* Belarusian language, Belarusian: Саманта (Samanta)
* Bulgarian language, Bulgarian: Саманта (Samanta)
* Chinese language, Chinese Simplified: 萨曼莎 (Sàmànshā)
* Chinese language, Chinese Traditional: 薩曼莎 (Sàmànshā)
* Dutch language, Dutch: Samantha
* Esperanto: Samanta
* French language, French: Samantha
* German language, German: Samantha
* Greek: Σαμάνθα
* Gujarati language, Gujarati: સમન્તા (Samantā)
* Hebrew language, Hebrew: סמנתה
* Hindi language, Hindi: सामन्था (Sāmanthā)
* Hungarian language, Hungarian: Szamanta
* Italian language, Italian: Samanta
* Japanese language, Japanese: サマンサ (Samansa)
* Kannada language, Kannada: ಸಮಂತಾ (Samantā)
* Khmer language, Khmer: សុមន្ថា (Somontha)
* Korean language, Korean: 사만다 (Samanda)
* Latvian language, Latvian: Samanta
* Mongolian language, Mongolian: Саманта (Samanta)
* Marathi language, Marathi: सामान्था (Sāmānthā)
* Portuguese language, Persian: سامانتا (Samanta)
* Spanish language, Portuguese: Samanta
* Swahili language, Swahili: Samandha
* Russian language, Russian: Саманта (Samanta)
* Serbian language, Serbian: Саманта (Samanta)
* Spanish language, Spanish: Samanta
* Tamil language, Tamil: சமாந்தா (Samantha)
* Telugu language, Telugu: సమంతా (Samantā)
* Thai language, Thai: ซาแมนต้า (Sāmænt̂ā)
* Ukrainian language, Ukrainian: Саманта (Samanta)
* Urdu language, Urdu: سامنتھا (Samantha)
* Yiddish language, Yiddish: סאַמאַנטהאַ (Sʼamʼanthʼa)

Notable people

Female

* Samantha Albert (born 1971), Canadian-born equestrienne who represents Jamaica in international competition
* Samantha Armytage (born 1976), Australian journalist and television news reporter
* Samantha Arsenault (born 1981), American swimmer and Olympic champion
* Samantha Barks (born 1990), Manx singer and actress
* Samantha Barning (born 1989), Dutch professional badminton player
* Samantha Beckinsale (born 1966), English actress
* Samantha Bee (born 1969), Canadian actress and comedian
* Samantha Bond (born 1961), English actress
* Samantha Boscarino (born 1994), American actress
* Sam Brown (singer), Sam Brown (born 1964), English singer
* Samantha Brown (born 1970), American television host
* Samantha Browne-Walters (born 1991), American actress
* Samantha Buck (born 1976), American actress
* Aunt Samantha Bumgarner (1878-1960), acclaimed country and folk music performer of the early 1900s
* Samantha Cameron (née Sheffield, born 1971), English business executive and wife of politician David Cameron
* Lan Samantha Chang (born 1965), American writer of novels and short stories
* Samantha Cole (born 1978), American dance-pop singer/songwriter
* Samantha Cools (born 1986), Canadian Bicycle Motocross (BMX) racer
* Samantha Cornish (born 1980), professional surfer from New South Wales, Australia
* Samantha Cristoforetti (born 1977), Italian astronaut
* Samantha Davies (sailor), Samantha Davies (born 1974), British yachtswoman
* Samantha Davies (sprinter), Samantha Davies (born 1979), British sprint athlete
* Samantha Dorman (born 1968), American model and actress
* Samantha Dorrance (born 1992), British actor and dancer
* Samantha Downie (born 1987), Australian model
* Samantha Dubois (1955–1992), Dutch radio presenter
* Samantha Eggar (born 1939), English actress
* Sam Faber, Samantha "Sam" Faber (born 1987), American ice hockey player
* Samantha Farquharson (born 1969), English athlete
* Samantha Ferris (born 1968), Canadian actress and television reporter
* Samantha Fox (born 1966), English former glamour model and dance-pop singer
* Sammi Giancola, Samantha Giancola (born 1987), American television personality and actress
* Samantha Giles (born 1971), British actress
* Samantha Gillison, American author
* Sammy Glenn (born 1983), English actress
* Samantha Harris (born 1973), American television presenter
* Sam Healy (born 1976), Australian actress
* Samantha Heath (born 1960), British politician
* Samantha Holland (born 1969), English actress
* Miss North Carolina USA, Samantha Holvey, American beauty queen
* Samantha Inoue-Harte (born 1979), American anime voice actress
* Samantha Irby, African-American blogger, comedian, and author
* Samantha Jade (born 1987), singer-songwriter also known as Samantha Gibbs
* Samantha James (born 1979), American dance musician
* Samantha Johnson (born 1991), American professional soccer defender
* Samantha Johnson (beauty pageant), Samantha Johnson (born 1984), American beauty pageant
* Samantha Jones (singer), Samantha Jones (born 1943), née Jean Owen, English singer and entertainer
* Samantha Josephson (died 2019), American murder victim
* Samantha Judge (born 1978), field hockey forward from Scotland
* Samantha Juste (born 1944), née Sandra Slater, the "disc girl" on the 1960s BBC television show ''Top of the Pops''
* Sam Kerr, Samantha Kerr (born 1993), Australian association football player
* Samantha Kinghorn (born 1996), Scottish wheelchair racer
* Samantha Lam (equestrian), Samantha Lam (born 1978), Chinese-Canadian equestrian
* Samantha Lane (born 1979), Australian television personality and sports reporter
* Samantha Larson (born 1988), American mountain climber
* Samantha Leigh Martin (born 1985), former child actress from England
* Samantha Lewes (born 1952), American actress also known as Susan Jane Dillingham and Samantha Dillingham
* Samantha Maloney (born 1975), American musician
* Samantha Mathis (born 1970), American actress
* Samantha Morton (born 1977), English actress
* Samantha Mumba (born 1983), Irish singer and actress
* Samantha Munro (born 1990), Canadian actress
* Samantha Murray (born 1989), English modern pentathlete
* Samantha Murray (tennis), Samantha Murray (born 1987), British tennis player
* Samantha Navarro (born 1971), Uruguayan singer and composer
* Samantha Page, a newscaster on Naked News
* Samantha Peszek (born 1991), American gymnast
* Samantha Power (born 1970), American diplomat and academic
* Samantha Reeves (born 1979), American tennis player
* Samantha Ruth Prabhu (born 1987), Indian actress
* Samantha De Reviziis (born 1985), Italian web influencer
* Murder of Samantha Runnion, Samantha Runnion (1996–2002), American female murder victim
* Samantha Sang (born 1951), Australian pop singer
* Samantha Shapiro (born 1993), American gymnast
* Samantha Smith (1972–1985), child peace activist and actress who died in a plane crash at age 13
* Samantha Smith (tennis), Samantha Smith (born 1971), British tennis player
* Samantha Stosur (born 1984), Australian tennis player
* Sam Taylor-Johnson (born 1967), English Filmmaker
* Sam Virgo (born 1987), Australian rules footballer
* Samantha Weinstein (born 1995), Canadian actress
* Samantha Womack (born 1972 as Samantha Janus), English actress and singer

Male

* Samantha de Mel (born 1965), Sri Lankan-born Italian cricketer
* Samantha Dodanwela (born 1970), Sri Lankan cricketer and tea company CEO
* Samantha Fernando (born 1985), Sri Lankan cricketer
* Samantha Sooriyabandara (died 2012), Sri Lankan army officer
* K. V. Samantha Vidyaratna, Sri Lankan politician
* Samantha Vithanage (born c. 1980), student murdered in Sri Lankan university

Fictional characters

* Sheriff Samantha Parker, a character in the 2002 monster comedy action film ''Eight Legged Freaks#Cast, Eight Legged Freaks''
* Samantha, a character in the 2009 American fantasy comedy movie ''17 Again (film)#Cast, 17 Again''
* Samantha, a sentient AI from the movie ''Her (film), Her''
* Samantha, the silent scorer in the BBC radio comedy panel game I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue#Scorers, I'm Sorry I Haven't a Clue
* Samantha, the protagonist from ''Need for Speed: Underground''
* Samantha, a character the panicked Olaf (Frozen), Olaf searches for in Disney's Frozen II (before he realizes he doesn't know a Samantha)
* Samantha Albertson, a character in the movie ''Now and Then (film), Now and Then'', played by both Gaby Hoffmann and Demi Moore
* Samantha Anderson, on the American TV soap opera ''As the World Turns''
* Samantha Baker, in the film ''Sixteen Candles''
* Samantha "Sam" Barnes, in the audio drama ''The Bright Sessions''
* Sami Brady, on the American soap opera ''Days of Our Lives''
* Sammy Jo Carrington, character in the American TV series ''Dynasty''
* Samantha Carter, a witty female scientist and soldier from the television show ''Stargate SG-1'' and related spinoffs, one of the six original main characters.
* Samantha Cole, a character in the film ''Liar Liar#Cast, Liar Liar''
* Samantha Darko, in the film ''Donnie Darko'' and its sequel, ''S. Darko''
* Samantha Fitzgerald, recurring character on the Australian soap opera ''Neighbours''
* Samantha "Sam" Giddings, one of eight protagonists from the survival horror game ''Until Dawn''
* List of Person of Interest characters#Root, Samantha Groves, in the television show ''Person of Interest (TV series), Person of Interest'', played by Amy Acker
* Sam Jones (Doctor Who), Sam Jones, in the Eighth Doctor Adventures novels
* Samantha, James' seductive new boss in the 1993 film ''Look Who's Talking Now''
* Samantha Jones (Sex and the City), Samantha Jones, in the television show Sex and the City, played by Kim Cattrall
* Samantha "Sam" Kanisky, a character on the American television sitcom ''Gimme a Break!#Main characters, Gimme a Break''
* Samantha Kingston, in the film ''Before I Fall (film), Before I Fall'', played by Zoey Deutch
* Samantha Tracy Lord, in the film ''High Society (1956 film), High Society'', played by Grace Kelly
* Samantha "Sam" Manson, from ''Danny Phantom
* Sam McCall, on the American soap opera ''General Hospital''
* Samantha "Sam" Micelli, a character in the TV show ''Who's the Boss?''
* Samantha Milano, a character in the TV sitcom ''Step by Step (TV series)#Others, Step by Step''
* Sam Mitchell (EastEnders), Sam Mitchell, in the BBC One soap opera ''EastEnders''
* Samantha "Sam" Montgomery, in the film ''A Cinderella Story''
* Samantha Moore, a character in the 1989 action movie ''No Holds Barred (1989 film)#Cast, No Holds Barred''
* Samantha Mulder, Fox Mulder's sister on the TV show ''The X-Files''. Samantha was abducted by aliens before the show's start.
* List of American Girl characters#Samantha Parkington, Samantha Parkington, a character in the American Girl series
* List of iCarly characters#Sam Puckett, Sam Puckett, from ''iCarly'', played by Jennette McCurdy
* Samantha Spade, in the TV series ''Without a Trace'', played by Poppy Montgomery
* List of Bewitched characters#Samantha Stephens, Samantha Stephens, in the TV show ''Bewitched''
* Samantha Taggart, in the TV show ''ER''
* Samantha ''Sammy'', a fictional seal from ''Putt-Putt Saves the Zoo''
* Samantha Evelyn Cook/Art3mis, Wade Watts' girlfriend in ''Ready Player One, Ready Player One (2011)'', ''Ready Player One (film), Ready Player One (2018 movie)'' and eventual wife in the end of ''Ready Player Two, Ready Player Two (2020)''

References

{{given name

English feminine given names
Sinhalese masculine given names