Sam is an abbreviated name that can be short for either Samuel or Samson, both of which are derived from Hebrew. Samuel comes from the Hebrew name Shemu'el (ְשׁמוּ ֵאל ) and translates to mean either "name of God" or "God has heard". Samson is derived from the Hebrew word shemesh (ֶשׁ ֶמשׁ ), meaning "sun". As a stand-alone name, Sam peaked in popularity in the latter-half of the 20th century.