Samir (also spelled Sameer) is a male name found commonly in

South Asia South Asia is the southern Subregion#Asia, subregion of Asia that is defined in both geographical and Ethnicity, ethnic-Culture, cultural terms. South Asia, with a population of 2.04 billion, contains a quarter (25%) of the world's populatio ...

, the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

, and

Central Asia Central Asia is a region of Asia consisting of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan. The countries as a group are also colloquially referred to as the "-stans" as all have names ending with the Persian language, Pers ...

. In Arabic, Samir () means "holy", "jovial", "loyal", or "charming". In Albanian, it literally means "so good" but loosely "exquisite", "superb", or "perfect". Samira is the feminine spelling, also found in both languages.

People with the name

Given name

Artists and musicians

* Samir (filmmaker) (born 1955), Samir Jamal al Din/Jamal Aldin, Swiss filmmaker of Iraqi origin * Samir Badran (born 1990), Swedish television personality and singer, part of duo Samir & Viktor *

Samir Chamas Samir Chamas (, 25 November 1942 – 11 August 2024) was a Lebanese actor, writer and journalist. Chamas married Siham Abu Al-Izz and he had two children, Rabih and Rima. He died on 11 August 2024, at the age of 81. Filmography Film Te ...

(1942-2024), Lebanese actor, writer and voice actor *

Samir Ghanem Samir Yousef Ghanem (; 15 January 1937 – 20 May 2021) was an Egyptian comedian, singer, and entertainer. Early life and education Ghanem was born in al-ʿAtawlah, Asyut Governorate. After graduating from high school, he joined the Police Aca ...

(1937-2021), Egyptian comedian

Politicians

* Samir Allioui (born 1983), Dutch politician *

Samir Frangieh Samir Frangieh (4 December 1945 – 11 April 2017) was a Lebanese politician, member of the Lebanese Parliament and a leftist intellectual. He was from the Frangieh family, one of the well-known political families of Lebanon. Early life Frangieh ...

(1945-2017), Lebanese politician *

Samir Geagea Samir Farid Geagea (, , also spelled Samir Ja'ja' ; born 25 October 1952) is a Lebanese politician and former militia commander who has been the leader of the Lebanese Forces Lebanese Forces, political party and Lebanese Forces (militia ...

(born 1952), Lebanese politician *

Samir Kassir Samir Kassir (; 5 May 1960 – 2 June 2005) was a Lebanese-Palestinian journalist of '' An-Nahar'' and professor of history at Saint-Joseph University, who was an advocate of democracy and prominent opponent of the Syrian occupation of Lebanon. ...

(1960-2005), Lebanese politician *

Samir Mouqbel Samir Mokbel () (born 13 November 1939) is a Lebanese politician. He was the deputy prime minister and defense minister of Lebanon. Early life and education Mouqbel was born in 1939. He graduated from the American University of Beirut with a ...

(born 1939), Lebanese politician *

Samir Saïed Samir Saïed (; born 1957) is a politician from Tunisia. He has been a minister of economy and planning in the Bouden Cabinet since 2021. On 17 October 2023, the President Kaïs Saïed dismissed Samir Saïed from his portfolio as Minister of Eco ...

(born 1957), Tunisian politician *

Samir Sharifov Samir Rauf oghlu Sharifov (; born 7 September 1961) is an Azerbaijani politician, Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Azerbaijan (since 2025), former Minister of Finance of the Republic of Azerbaijan (2006-2025). Early life Sharifov was b ...

(born 1961), Azerbaijani politician *

Sameer Zuberi Sameer Zuberi (born August 1979) is a Canadian politician who was elected to represent the federal riding of Pierrefonds—Dollard in the House of Commons of Canada in the 2019 Canadian federal election, sitting as a member of the Liberal Part ...

(born 1979), Canadian politician

Sportsmen

* Samir (footballer, born 1981) (born 1981), Samir Lima de Araújo, Brazilian striker *

Samir (footballer, born 1994) Samir Caetano de Souza Santos (born 5 December 1994), also known as Samir, is a Brazilian professional footballer who plays as a centre back for Liga MX club Mazatlán on loan from UANL. Club career Born in Rio de Janeiro, Samir began his care ...

(born 1994), Samir Caetano de Souza Santos, Brazilian centre back *

Samir (Cape Verdean footballer) Hélder Samir Lopes Semedo Fernandes (born 13 October 1988), known as Samir, is a Cape Verdean football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal ...

(born 1988), Hélder Samir Lopes Semedo Fernandes (born 1988), forward *

Samir Ayass Samir Ahmed Ayass (, ; ; born 24 December 1990) is a former professional association football, footballer who played as a midfielder. Coming through the youth system, Ayass began his senior career in 2008 at hometown club PFC CSKA Sofia, CSKA S ...

(born 1990), Lebanese footballer *

Samir Bannout Samir Bannout () (born November 7, 1955) is a Lebanese former professional bodybuilder and commentator. Nicknamed 'The Lion of Lebanon', he won the 1983 Mr. Olympia, defeating Mohamed Makkawy and Lee Haney. He is the first Middle Eastern bodyb ...

(born 1955), Lebanese bodybuilder *

Samir Bekrić Samir Bekrić (born 20 October 1984) is a Bosnian Association football, football executive and former Football player, player who played as a midfielder. He is the current coordinator of the youth school of Premier League of Bosnia and Herzegovin ...

(born 1984), Bosnian footballer *

Samir Fazlagić Samir Fazlagić (born 21 October 1982) is a former professional football player A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, Ameri ...

(born 1982), Norwegian footballer *

Samir Fazli Samir Fazli (; born 22 April 1991) is a Macedonian professional footballer who plays as a striker for Makedonija Gjorče Petrov. Early life Born in Skopje, Fazli lived in Canada for some time, attending Jasper Place High School in Edmonton ...

(born 1991), Macedonian footballer *

Samir Hadji Samir Hadji (born 12 September 1989) is a footballer who plays for the Luxembourgian club F91 Dudelange as a striker. Born in France, he has represented Morocco at youth level. Personal life He is the son of former Moroccan international Mus ...

(born 1989), Moroccan footballer *

Samir Handanovič Samir (also spelled Sameer) is a male name found commonly in South Asia, the Middle East, and Central Asia. In Arabic, Samir () means "holy", "jovial", "loyal", or "charming". In Albanian, it literally means "so good" but loosely "exquisite", ...

(born 1984), Slovenian footballer *

Samir Karabašić Samir Karabašić (born December 12, 1966) is a Bosnian slalom canoer who competed in the mid-1990s. He finished 41st in the K-1 event at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capi ...

(born 1966), Bosnian canoeist *

Samir Mammadov Samir Mammadov (; born May 15, 1988) is a boxer from Azerbaijan, who won the silver medal in the men's flyweight division (– 51 kg) at the 2006 European Championships in Bulgaria and bronze at the 2007 World Championships. Career At ...

(born 1988), Azerbaijani boxer *

Samir Merzić Samir Merzić (born 29 June 1984) is a Bosnian former professional association football, footballer who played as a defender (association football), defender. He has played four times for the Bosnia and Herzegovina national football team, Bosnia ...

(born 1984), Bosnian footballer *

Samir Nasri Samir Nasri (; born 26 June 1987) is a French former professional Association football, footballer. He primarily played as an attacking midfielder and a Winger (association football), winger, although he was also deployed in the Centre midfield ...

(born 1987), French

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby lea ...

* Samir Mohamed (born 2003), Egyptian footballer *

Semir Slomić Semir Slomić (born 14 January 1988 in Banovići) is a Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bosnian retired association football, football player, who played for FK Radnicki Lukavac in the Prva Liga Federacije Bosne i Hercegovine, Prva liga FBiH. Club caree ...

(born 1988), Bosnian footballer *

Semir Tuce Semir Tuce (born 11 February 1964) is a Bosnian retired footballer, who played as left winger. He was part of the Velež Mostar ''second golden era'', which won the 1985–86 Yugoslav Cup. Club career Velež Mostar Tuce was born in Mostar an ...

(born 1964), Bosnian footballer *

Samir Ujkani Samir Ujkani (born 5 July 1988) is a former Kosovan professional association football, footballer who is the current sports director of the Kosovo national football team, Kosovo national team. Early life Ujkani was born in Resnik, a village near ...

(born 1988), Albanian footballer *

Samir Ziani Samir Ziani (born 19 July 1990) is a French professional boxer who has held the European Boxing Union, European super-featherweight. Professional career Ziani made his professional debut on 21 May 2010, scoring a four-round points decision (PTS ...

(born 1990), French boxer

Others

* Samir El-Khadem (born 1942), Lebanese former Commander of the Lebanese Naval Forces * Samir Khader, Iraqi journalist * Samir Mehanović, British film director * Samir Naji Al Hasan Moqbel (born 1977), Yemeni guantanamo detainee * Samir Naqqash (1938-2004), Israeli writer *

Semir Zeki Semir Zeki FMedSci Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (born 8 November 1940) is a British and French Neuroscientist, neurobiologist who has specialised in studying the primate visual brain and more recently the neural correlates of affective stat ...

(born 1940), British neuroscientist

Fictional characters

Samir Duran/Emil Narud, a character in the ''StarCraft'' series

Nickname

* Ajam Boujarari Mohammed (born 1961), Moroccan football manager known as Samir

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Samir Arabic-language masculine given names Masculine given names Bosniak masculine given names Iranian masculine given names Azerbaijani masculine given names