Shmuel
How to say it: shmoo-EL · /ʃmuˈɛl/
Hebrew form of Samuel meaning 'God has heard'. The traditional Ashkenazi Jewish form of the biblical name Samuel.
Shmuel was the 846th most popular boys’ name in the United States in 2025, given to 256 babies (Social Security Administration). The 2020s are its busiest decade so far, its births are up about 27% in ten years, and it is projected to rise to #744 by 2030.
Updated · SSA 2025 data, published May 2026 · How we compute these figures
Key facts
| Rank among boys’ names, 2025 | #846 |
|---|---|
| Babies born in 2025 | 256 |
| Share of births | 1 in 12,950 |
| Peak decade | 2020s |
| Change over 10 years | +27% |
| Projected rank for 2030 (estimate) | #744 |
Sources: Social Security Administration (SSA). How we compute these figures.
Its life, decade by decade
Growth for Shmuel has come almost entirely in recent decades. Its summit is the 2020s, and the coming years point higher still.
What goes with it
Warm and soft with breathy depth, said shmoo EL, it carries a biblical gravity. Yosef shares its traditional resonance.
In the classroom
In a class of 25 children born in 2025, the chance that another child is called Shmuel is about under 1 in 200.
Around the world
This spelling is used in English, Hebrew.
Famous people named Shmuel
- Shmuel Yosef Agnon (1887–1970)Ukrainian-born Israeli Hebrew writer, Nobel laureate in Literature
- Shmuel Eisenstadt (1923–2010)Israeli sociologist
- Shmuel Halpert (born 1939)Israeli politician
From Wikidata and Wikipedia
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