SAMA, pronounced SAH-MA, has history attached to it.

Journey with us as we unpack the meaning behind the name, and why we believe it aligns with our brand.

WHERE IT ALL STARTED

SAMA 様 in Japanese is a honorific suffix used to show respect when addressing someone. Sama is gender-neutral just like san. 

My great grandma, Toshiko Toyama, migrated from Japan to Hawaii during WW2. To this day, my extended family lives in Hawaii and carries on elements of Japanese (and Hawaiian) culture passed down throughout generations. SAMA is a nod to my family, and to me means treating everyone with respect and as equals, despite any social or political differences in ideology.

Destiny, Co-Founder

SAMA has grown to mean more than that though. The more we learn, the more we fall in love with our name.

In Swahili, Finnish, & Indonesian, SAMA means “same”. Really, we are all the same humans floating around on a tiny blue particle of dust hurling through the universe.

We’ve also learnt that In Arabic:

سماء (sama') means "sky" (thanks, Maggie), which we love that we can look up to.

HOW DOES IT ALIGN WITH THE BRAND

We align with inclusivity and respect, so naturally SAMA has been a great fit for us.

Creating a gender-inclusive nail polish company is not easy. There are barriers that need to be overcome, but it's all worth it seeing people freely express themselves without fear of resentment or rejection.

After all, we are all equals.