Explore the Family Name Sami

The meaning of Sami

1. Muslim: from a personal name based on Arabic samīʿ ‘hearing, listening’, or on sāmī ‘august’. As-Samīʿ ‘the All-Hearing’ is an attribute of Allah, giving rise to the compound name ʿAbd al-Samīʿ, ʿAbdul-Samīʿ, ʿAbdus-Samīʿ ‘servant of the All-Hearing’. Compare Sammy and Samy. 2. Indian: variant of Swamy. Some characteristic forenames: Arabic/Muslim Ali, Hafez, Mohamad, Mohammad, Mohammed, Syed, Abdi, Abdul, Adly, Ahmad, Ahmed. Indian Arvind, Kailash, Purnima, Usha.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Sami in the United States?

According to the data provided by the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname "Sami" has shown a significant increase between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, Sami was ranked 30,161st in popularity and had 733 counts. By 2010, the rank had improved to 22,906 while the count had increased by 52.39% to 1,117. The proportion per 100,000 also saw an increase from 0.27 to 0.38, marking a change of 40.74%.

20002010Change
Rank#30,161#22,90624.05%
Count7331,11752.39%
Proportion per 100k0.270.3840.74%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Sami

The ethnicity breakdown based on the Decennial U.S. Census for the same period reveals some shifts. The percentage of those with Asian/Pacific Islander ethnicity increased by 17.71%, making it 36.62% of the total in 2010. Those identifying as White followed at 43.78%, which was a 6.26% increase from 2000. There were decreases in several categories: those with two or more ethnic identities dropped by 29.47% to 8.95%, those identifying as Hispanic fell by 39.01% to 3.58%, and those identifying as Black decreased by 24.82% to 6.36%. American Indian and Alaskan Native remained relatively steady with a slight rise of 5.88% to reach 0.72% in 2010.

20002010Change
White41.2%43.78%6.26%
Asian/Pacific Islander31.11%36.62%17.71%
Two or More Races12.69%8.95%-29.47%
Black8.46%6.36%-24.82%
Hispanic5.87%3.58%-39.01%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0.68%0.72%5.88%