• Samantha

    Pronunciation

    • IPA: /səˈmænθə/

    Origin

    The etymology is uncertain. It has been recorded in the 17th century in England https://familysearch.org/search/record/results?count=20&query=%2Bgivenname%3Asamantha&birth_year0=1600 Most probably a feminine form of Samuel, possibly influenced byAnthea. Other suggestions include the Aramaic noun ܫܡܥܢܬܐ (šemʿanta, "listener"), from ܫܡܥ. In India, Samantha can be interpreted as a variant spelling of Samanta, from the Sanskrit word meaning "universal, adjacent".

    Full definition of Samantha

    Proper noun

    Samantha

    (plural Samanthas)
    1. .
      • 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

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