Samuel

God has heard. That is what Samuel has meant for the best part of forever, traditionally the answer to a longed-for prayer, which makes it a quietly moving choice for a child who has been hoped for, waited for, or simply very much wanted. Not many names come pre-loaded with quite that much heart.

It's also one of the great steady performers. Samuel doesn't chase the charts; it just holds its ground everywhere at once. Right now it sits twelfth in Brazil, twenty-fourth in Canada, twenty-fifth in the United States and thirtieth in Argentina, with dependable placings in Australia, Mexico City, England & Wales and Catalonia. It's popular enough to feel familiar and rare enough that your child won't be one of four in the class, the balance most parents are secretly after.

The name reaches a long way back. The original Samuel is the biblical prophet whose story fills the book that bears his name, which lends the name its old, weathered dignity. From there it has attached itself to some seriously fine writers, Samuel Beckett, the Irish playwright of famously few but perfect words, and Samuel Johnson, the English writer and lexicographer who all but wrote the dictionary single-handed. And for the box-set generation there's Sam Winchester of Supernatural, proof the name can chase monsters as happily as it can compile them into a lexicon.

Day to day, of course, most Samuels answer to something shorter. Sam is one of the friendliest, most unpretentious nicknames going, impossible to say unkindly, while Sammy keeps a bit of nursery softness for as long as you can get away with it. The full Samuel is always there in reserve for the serious moments, which is exactly how a good name should work. You get the warmth of a nickname and the ballast of a proper classic, all bundled into the one christening card.

It's an easy one to build a family around, too. Set it beside Benjamin, Jacob, Hannah or Abigail and the whole shortlist suddenly sounds of a piece, gently biblical, warm and timeless, with not a trendy edge in sight. These are names that won't feel dated when the birthday cards start arriving in earnest decades from now.

That's really Samuel's gift: it's substantial without being stuffy, classic without being dull, and kind in a way that's hard to put your finger on. It sounds like someone you'd trust. None of which, naturally, makes the choosing any easier. That's the beautiful cruelty of naming a baby, God may have heard, but the deciding is still entirely yours. Expect to find yourself murmuring it aloud in an empty room, just to be sure.