Samson: Last Name and Heraldic Notes

The same name, two spellings: Samson and Sampson. At root, the name means “Of the sun”. Before spelling was fixed, Sampson was also written Samson. Regional accents shaped spellings long before dictionaries fixed them. Related forms: Sampsen and Sansom.

The Census Bureau's 2010 surname file lists Samson with 11,123 bearers, at rank 3,246. Spain's INE counts 386 residents with Samson as first surname and 148 with it as second. Spaniards carry two surnames, one from each parent, which is why Samson is counted in both positions. Similar-sounding surnames on Herald Lab: Simson and Simison.

Arms linked to Sampson and its spellings were granted to individual families; our heraldry team traces which line they belonged to. For the full story, order the Samson surname pack.