# Sampson (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/sampson/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | not recorded |
| Type | not recorded |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 39,277 |
| US rank (2010) | 886 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 7,861 people |
| Change since 2000 | +5.5% (37,234 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /ˈsæmp.sən/, 2 syllables |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |

## Etymology

A variant of Samson.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Sampson in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 60% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 30% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.8% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.7% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 3.9% |
| Two or more races | 2.4% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Sampson in the United States, Austria and Australia.

## People named Sampson

- Cesár Sampson, Austrian singer–songwriter
- Ralph Sampson, American basketball player (born 1960)
- Holly Sampson, American actress and pornographic performer
- Angus Sampson, Australian actor
- Steve Sampson, American soccer manager
- JaKarr Sampson, American basketball player (born 1993)
- Flem D. Sampson, 42nd Governor of Kentucky (1875–1967)
- Brandon Sampson, American basketball player (born 1997)
- Ed Sampson, American ice hockey player (1921-1974)
- Teddy Sampson, American actress
- John A. Sampson, American gynecologist (1873–1946)
- Edgar Sampson, American jazz composer, arranger, saxophonist, and violinist (1907–1973)

and 1 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

Simpson, Simpkins, Snipes, Shimabukuro.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.