Short form of Samuel or Samantha, from Hebrew 'Shemu'el' meaning God has heard.
Vibe
playful
How it ages.
Sam as standalone given name has grown with nickname-as-name trend, now in moderate usage.
The cultural moment.
North America shows Sam gaining traction as formal first name starting 2000, increasingly used as unisex choice, now in consistent top-50 usage. Currently ranks #13 in the Netherlands.