Sampson Surname Meaning & Origin
What the Sampson last name means, where the surname began and how it spread.
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Meaning and origin of the Sampson last name
Meaning of the Sampson last name: of the sun. Sampson is an English surname from the first name Samson, the biblical strongman, whose Hebrew name is linked with the word for "sun". The last name is most common in Cornwall and the West Country. A curious detail of this surname origin: its popularity there owes much to Saint Samson, a Welsh-born bishop who worked in Cornwall and Brittany.
Arms associated with the Sampson name
In heraldry the full achievement adds a helmet, mantling and other parts around the shield, and coats of arms associated with the Sampson name are usually shown in that fuller form.
Get your full Sampson family history
This is only a glimpse of the Sampson story. The full Sampson history report goes much deeper into where the name began, who carried it and how the family spread, and it comes with a museum-style painted Sampson coat of arms. Get the full Sampson report.
Sampson name FAQ
What does the Sampson name mean?
Of the sun. Common variants include Samson, Sansom, Sampsen.
Where does the Sampson surname come from?
It originates in England, and is also found in the United States, Australia and Canada.
Is there a Sampson coat of arms?
Arms were granted to individuals rather than to everyone with a surname. Herald Lab paints a personalized Sampson coat of arms in museum style, based on historic heraldry.
Sources: Reaney & Wilson, Dictionary of English Surnames; Dictionary of American Family Names (Oxford).