# Samson (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/samson/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys |
| Origin | Hebrew |
| Meaning | not recorded |
| Pronunciation | /ˈsæmsən/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | Sampson |
| US babies named this | 12,879 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 12,879 / 0 (0% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 1,572, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Middle English Sampson, Sampsoun, Samson, from Latin Samson, from Ancient Greek Σαμψών (Sampsṓn), from Hebrew שִׁמְשׁוֹן.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 243 | 868 |
| 2012 | 280 | 802 |
| 2013 | 360 | 671 |
| 2014 | 420 | 627 |
| 2015 | 434 | 619 |
| 2016 | 481 | 577 |
| 2017 | 440 | 602 |
| 2018 | 512 | 546 |
| 2019 | 488 | 573 |
| 2020 | 495 | 566 |
| 2021 | 473 | 590 |
| 2022 | 491 | 585 |
| 2023 | 517 | 565 |
| 2024 | 585 | 522 |
| 2025 | 639 | 477 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 74 | 490 |
| 2012 | 59 | 592 |
| 2013 | 81 | 475 |
| 2014 | 57 | 611 |
| 2015 | 87 | 465 |
| 2016 | 90 | 452 |
| 2017 | 69 | 563 |
| 2018 | 69 | 545 |
| 2019 | 63 | 589 |
| 2020 | 52 | 656 |
| 2021 | 61 | 610 |
| 2022 | 50 | 679 |
| 2023 | 46 | 728 |
| 2024 | 57 | 651 |
| 2025 | 41 | 798 |

## In other languages

- Chinese: 薩姆森 /萨姆森, 桑松
- French: Samson
- Hebrew: שִׁמְשׁוֹן
- Portuguese: Sansão
- Spanish: Sansón

## People named Samson

- Samson Kitur, Athletics competitor from Kenya (1966-2003)
- Samson Baidoo, Austrian association football player
- Samson François, French pianist and composer (1924–1970)
- Samson Raphaelson, American writer (1894–1983)
- Samson Burke, Canadian professional wrestler and actor
- Samson Mbingui, Gabonese footballer
- Samson Wertheimer, European rabbi (1658-1724)
- Samson Chanba, Abkhazian writer and statesman (1886–1937)
- Samson Shukardin, 21st-century Catholic bishop
- Samson Dadiani, Georgian politician and lawyer
- Vinny Appice, American drummer
- Paul Tannery, French mathematician (1843–1904)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.