Samantha

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ORIGIN AND HISTORY

Samantha is the feminine form of the Hebrew name Samuel, which means "God heard."^[1]

The most likely explanation for the origin of Samantha is that the name came to prominence at the end of the 18th century in England. The name would have had a rather exotic sound at that time and would definitely have been reserved for the upper classes where its modern appeal would make it popular with those seeking something different for their child.

POPULARITY

The popularity of the name Samantha really took off in the 1960s due to the TV show 'Bewitched' (1964) where Elizabeth Montgomery played the famous witch, Samantha Stephens. This reinforced the exotic and perhaps slightly sexy reputation of the name and parents began to call their daughters Samantha in increasing numbers both in the US and other anglophone countries.

In the US the name's popularity rose steadily throughout the three last decades of the 20th century, peaking in the 1990s and falling away this century. The popularity of the name appears to be on the wane but perhaps its popularity will be rekindled by both the character Samantha Jones (Kim Cattrall) in the TV series 'Sex and the City' and the current TV hit 'Samantha Who?' (Christina Applegate) showing on the ABC network.

NAMESAKES

• Samantha, a Venezuelan telenovela produced by and seen on Venevisin in 1998

• Samantha Josephine "Sammy Jo" Carrington from the 1980s prime-time serial Dynasty

• Samantha "Sami" Brady from the US daytime soap opera Days of Our Lives

• Samantha Carter from Stargate SG-1

• Smantha Samuels from Cory in the House

• Samantha Lo, the main and title character of the French television series 'Samantha oups!

• Samantha Elliott, a popular character on the television series TIGS

• Samantha in Xena: Warrior Princess

• A film Samantha 1992 with Martha Plimpton as the eponymous heroine

• 'Samantha' a song from the 1980 film Can't Stop the Music with Valerie Perrine as Samantha and the song sung by The Village People and 'I Love You Samantha from the 1956 musical High Society where Grace Kelly played Tracy Samantha Lord. This starts with 'Satchmo' Louis Armstrong with a trumpet intro and Bing Crosby doing his 'bu bu bu' best with the lyrics.

FAMOUS PERSONS

• Samantha Eggar (Victoria Louise Samantha Marie Elizabeth Therese Eggar) English actress famous for playing opposite Cary Grant in Walk Don't Run (1966) and Doctor Dolittle (1967) with Sir Rex Harrison and numerous film and TV roles since

• Samantha Mumba singer and actress born in Dublin, Ireland

• Samantha Janus British actress currently appearing in the BBC soap Eastenders

• Samantha Bond British actress now playing Miss Moneypenny, funnily enough in the Bond movies.

NOTES

OTHER SAMANTHA'S

Samantha Alamia, Samantha Singleton, Samantha Aberman, Samantha Lane, Samantha Salinas, Samantha Akinnubi, Samantha Baisa, Samantha Gitman, Samantha Pitts, Samantha Agee, Samantha Badillo, Samantha Hatcher, Samantha Achee, Samantha Oneil, Samantha Rogers, Samantha Clay, Samantha Ahler, Samantha Bagwell, Samantha Solis, Samantha Palmer, Samantha Webster, Samantha Grimes, Samantha Bartlett, Samantha Keith, Samantha Huffman, Samantha Aikens, Samantha Padilla, Samantha Aftab, Samantha Tracy, Samantha Mcdaniel, Samantha Thornton, Samantha Abee, Samantha Bachechi, Samantha Walter, Samantha Abram, Samantha Camp, Samantha Adamson, Samantha Bowers, Samantha Backer, Samantha Airgood, Samantha Ortega, Samantha Powell, Samantha Badeaux, Samantha Babyar, Samantha Addonizio, Samantha Soto, Samantha Best, Samantha Villa, Samantha French, Samantha Webb, More results

Author: Ray Cook