Samuel (Hebrew: שְׁמוּאֵל Šəmūʾēl, Tiberian: Šămūʾēl) is a male given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. From its appearance it seems to have the meaning of "God has set" or "God has placed", appearing to derive from the Hebrew Śāmū (שָׂמוּ) + ʾĒl (God has set/placed). The Hebrew śāmū is also related to the Akkadian šâmū (𒊮𒈬), which shares the same meaning. However, from the explanation given in 1 Samuel 1:20, the name would seem to come from a contraction of the Hebrew שְׁאִלְתִּיו מֵאֵל (Modern: Šəʾīltīv mēʾĒl, Tiberian: Šĭʾīltīw mēʾĒl), meaning "I have asked/borrowed him from God". This is the verse in which the Prophet Samuel's mother Hannah names her son, after praying that she would be able to give birth. Her prayers having been answered, she dedicates the child to God as a Nazirite. Samuel was the last of the ruling judges in the Old Testament. He anointed Saul to be the first King of Israel and later anointed David. As a Christian name, Samuel came into common use after the Protestant Reformation. Famous bearers include the American inventor Samuel F. B. Morse (1791–1872), the Irish writer Samuel Beckett (1906–89) and the American author Samuel Clemens (1835–1910), who wrote under the pen name Mark Twain. The name Samuel is popular amongst Black Africans, as well as among African Americans. It is also widespread amongst the modern Jewish communities, especially Sephardic Jews. It is also quite popular in countries that speak English, French, German, Dutch, Spanish, and Portuguese, as well as in Ireland, Scotland, Scandinavia, Poland, the Czech Republic and Slovakia. Translations Amharic: ሳሙኤል(Samuel) Arabic: صموئيل (Ṣamūʾīl), شموئيل (Šamūʾīl) Armenian: Սամվել (Samvel), Սամուէլ (Samuēl) Belarusian: Самуіл (Samuil) Bulgarian: Самуил (Samuil) Burmese: ဆမ်မြူရယ် (Sam, myu, yal) Cantonese: 森姆 (Summo) Chinese Simplified: 塞缪尔 (Sāimóuěr, Sàimiùěr) Chinese Traditional: 山繆 (Sāimóu, Sàimiù) Croatian: Samuel Czech: Samuel Danish: Samuel Dutch: Samuel English: Samuel, Sam, Sammy Esperanto: Samuele Estonian: Saamuel Faroese: Sámal Filipino: Samuél Finnish: Samuel, Samuli, Sami, Samppa, Samu French: Samuel German: Samuel Georgian: სამუელი (Samueli) Greek: Σαμουήλ (Samouí̱l, Samouēl) Gujarati: સેમ્યુઅલ (Sēmyu'ala) Hawaiian: Kamuela Hebrew: שְׁמוּאֵל (Modern: Šmūʾēl or Šəmūʾēl, Tiberian: Šămūʾēl) Hindi: सैमुअल (Saimu'ala) Hungarian: Sámuel, Sami, Samu Icelandic: Samúel Irish: Somhairle (So-ar-la) Italian: Samuele, Samüèle Japanese: サミュエル (Samyueru), サムエル (Samueru) Javanese: ꦱꦩꦸꦮꦺꦭ꧀ (Samuwèl) Kannada: ಸ್ಯಾಮ್ಯುಯೆಲ್ (Syāmyuyel) Khmer: សាំយូអែល (Samyouel) Korean: 사무엘 (Samuel) Latin: Samuel Macedonian: Самуил (Sámuil, Samoil) Malayalam: ശമുവേൽ (Śhamu'vēl) Malagasy: Samoela Maltese: Samwel Māori: Hamuera Marathi: शमुवेल (Śamuvēla)