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Baby names

Find baby name inspiration and advice on the Mumsnet Baby Names forum.

Original poster

Samantha

64 replies

samantha9 · 10/12/2025 20:26

What do you think of this name for a little girl born in 2026? I like Sam and Sammy as shortenings but really like the longer name too. Is it an underused classic or unusable?

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darkestdecember · 11/12/2025 13:57

I really don’t like it, sorry. I think because the mean girls at school were Samanthas and Donnas and Leannes; it has that vibe for me.

TheTowerAtMidnight · 11/12/2025 13:37

I mainly associate the name with Samantha from Sex and the City but that probably won't be an issue at primary school in the 2030s!
I think the name is dated but it's not terrible.

MaggieBsBoat · 11/12/2025 13:35

Great name!

Theseventhmagpie · 11/12/2025 13:33

Lovely name. All the Samantha’s I’ve ever known have been lovely ☺️

Notgonnalieaboutthis · 11/12/2025 13:17

No, it’s dreadful

user1492757084 · 11/12/2025 13:15

Samantha is attractive and strong.

It reminds me of ..
Jacqueline
Sally
Caroline
Serena
Rosalind

Bananalanacake · 11/12/2025 13:15

I love it, mine calls herself Sammi

Original poster
samantha9 · 11/12/2025 13:12

Thanks everyone, I’ve got time to think about it. Samantha seems more liked/ loved than I would have guessed but there are a few posters confirming my doubts that it’s a bit dated. It doesn’t bother me but I have to decide if our love for the name outweighs the risk she’ll feel she has an old lady name, not in a good way. At the moment I think we’ll go for it, if she doesn’t like Samantha she can go with Sam.
@MarbleDrive I actually like all of those names so I clearly have a 1970’s taste!

OP posts:
patooties · 11/12/2025 13:02

I love it.

Beamur · 11/12/2025 11:33

It's one of those names that goes in and out of fashion. I think it's due a comeback. I think it's a name more common for women in their 50's and 60's so just moving into the genre of a fresh generation of (young) Granny names.

Purplecatshopaholic · 11/12/2025 11:30

Lovely name, with nice nicknames too. Defo time for a come-back.

LoudPlumDog · 11/12/2025 11:20

Love it still, I have 3 girls and Samantha was on the name list each time, but I never used it because something else trumped!

I had Samantha Amy
Samantha Kate
Samantha Erin

4thbabynamehelp · 11/12/2025 10:57

I like Samantha as a name, it was almost my name! However, it's very dated to a generation. It means she won't have any Samantha's in her class but it also means she will go through life with people assuming she's 30 or 40 years older before meeting her. She will have an 'old lady name'.
It's like when you see the name Sue or Brenda or Linn, you assume the age before you meet them.
Sorry I don't mean to be rude but that's the reason I wouldn't choose a name dated to a previous generation unless it was so old it was becoming trendy again.

Emanwenym · 11/12/2025 10:34

I'm more of a "stuffy" Elizabeth and Harriette ...
Harriette is awful. Harriet is nice.

Emanwenym · 11/12/2025 10:33

Top 25 name in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. In the top 100 names for girls 1960s and 2000s.
Samantha. I think of Samantha Cameron, Samantha Morton, Sam Fox and Sammy Rogers. I only know one and she was born in the late1960s
Dated but not awful.

ACynicalDad · 11/12/2025 07:22

Samantha and Hannah were two I really liked, I’m sure there were more, then were had boys.

Mariammaom · 11/12/2025 07:20

My best friend is called Samantha. She’s known as Sam. I don’t like Sammy.

ResusciAnnie · 10/12/2025 23:40

I know a little Sammy who I assume is a Samantha! It works.

theunbreakablecleopatrajones · 10/12/2025 23:35

I like it, it reminds me of bewitched

I don't like Sam though, but since you do, go for it

Guiltypleasures001 · 10/12/2025 23:35

That’s me 😏my Dad named me after the Bewitched Samantha
but I go by Sam 😁

user2848502016 · 10/12/2025 23:34

I don’t really like it sorry, or Sam/Sammie, not because it’s dated it’s just a name I’ve never liked much.
I do like it more than Harriet though, but I really like Matilda.
If you love it though don’t not use it just because you think it’s dated

Pettenell · 10/12/2025 23:21

I like it and I think it is very usable. The name has a freshness for me when a good name like this is used out of its most popular generation.

MarbleDrive · 10/12/2025 22:44

I’m a 70s baby so I think of it as a name of so many classmates. Along with Sarah, Clare, Rachel, Helen, Nicola etc.

It’s an ok name, if a bit bland.

OhPIease · 10/12/2025 22:43

I absolutely love it.

GoodVibesHere · 10/12/2025 22:41

I love it, and think it's really pretty and yet strong. Somehow it's one of those names that looks pretty written down too.