Sammy is the pet form of Samuel, the Hebrew name of the prophet who anointed Israel's first kings; it is usually explained as "God has heard" or "name of God". Entertainer Sammy Davis Jr. and slugger Sammy Sosa gave the nickname a life of its own. As an official name Sammy ranked number 763 in 2000, peaked at number 746 in 2001 and left the top 1000 soon after; it stands at number 1864 in 2025.