by Carisa Silvesan

Created on: December 03, 2007

Samantha, or sa-MAN-tha, is a beautiful female name having many different possible origins and meanings. Some possible origins are English, Hebrew, Aramaic, Greek and American. Some say Samantha is a variant of Samuel which is a Hebrew name. Others feel it is a combination of Samuel and the Greek name Anthea. If taken as a Hebrew name, Samantha means good listener or told by God. The Greek name Anthea means flower. Still some feel America is where the name first originated from as it was first recorded in the southern United States in 1800. Depending on which origin and meaning you feel Samantha has it could possibly be affiliated with the Jewish or Christian religion.

The name showed up somewhat in the 17th and 18th centuries and then seemed to die off for quite some time. With the introduction of the 1960s TV show, "Bewitched", Samantha gained popularity in the United States where it hit an all time popularity high in the 1990s. Today Samantha is the 10th most popular name for girls, according to the Social Security Administration.

Being a somewhat popular name, there has been music and movies written for Samantha. Song writers such as Yoko Ono, Bing Crosby and Louis Armstrong, Elton John, the Village People and more have made music for "Samantha." Samantha Jones was a popular character in the HBO show "Sex and the City." The movie "Samantha" came out in 1992 and the name is shared with actress Samantha Eggar.

Samantha has also been spelled as Samanthe and Samanta. Nicknames are often Sammy, Sammi and Sam.

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