Sami appears at rank 1363 in the pet registry, tilting female but genuinely neutral — it's one of those names that owners pick when they want something friendly and unadorned, without the formality of Samantha or the starkness of Sam. The spelling with an -i softens the whole thing perceptibly.
The Soft-I Effect
The choice to spell it Sami rather than Sammy is a deliberate aesthetic move: the single final -i reads lighter, more modern, and slightly more international. It's the same instinct that produces Bri over Bree, Lili over Lily. On a pet, this spelling is common enough that it doesn't read as eccentric, but it still signals that the owner thought about it. Dogs named Sami tend to belong to owners who wanted something casual and warm — the name that fits a dog you take everywhere. Labs and Goldens are natural fits.
Human-Name Crossover
Sami as a human name has roots in Arabic (elevated, sublime) and Scandinavian contexts (as a nickname for Samuel or Samantha). The pet version borrows the friendliness of the human name without carrying any of its etymology. The full human name arc is tracked at /names/sami.
The Counter-Reading
Sami's informality means it won't differentiate your dog in a park full of Maxes and Bellas — it's a background name, pleasant and easy but not memorable. Sasha or Sadie offer similar sounds with more definition.