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Samson

Hebrew
"sun"
Clare Green
By Clare Green
Updated Tue Sep 30 2025

Samson Origin and Meaning

The name Samson is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "sun".

With the prevailing popularity of Samuel, some parents are considering this more (literally) powerful biblical name, which shares the desirable nickname of Sam.

Samson was, of course, the supernaturally strong champion of the Israelites against the Philistines who was betrayed by Delilah, as dramatized in more than one technicolor epic. But the more it is used for children today, the more the name is able to move away from that image.

Sampson is a variant spelling--Sampson Brass is a character in the Dickens novel The Old Curiosity Shop, Samzun is the interesting Celtic spelling, Sansone the Italian version.

The story of Samson has been translated into a number of works of art, including Milton's poetic drama Samson Agonistes, an oratorio by Handel, an opera by Saint-Saens, and paintings by Rembrandt and Rubens.

# 522 in the US

Samson Rank in US Top 1000

# 383 on Nameberry

Samson Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Popularity of the name Samson

20 Names Similar to Samson

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Samson.

Famous People Named Samson

  • Samson
    Biblical man given supernatural strength by God to defeat his enemies
  • Saint Samson of Dol
    one of the founder saints of Brittany
  • Samson Pascal François
    French pianist and composer
  • Samson Satele
    American NFL football player
  • Samson Raphael Hirsch
    German rabbi, founder of Torah im Derech Eretz
  • Samson Siasia
    Nigerian footballer
  • Samson Mahbod
    Canadian,American ice hockey player

The name Samson in Pop Culture

  • "Samson
    " song by Regina Spektor
  • "Samson and Delilah
    " song by the Grateful Dead
  • Samson
    British hard rock band
  • Brock Samson
    character in 'The Venture Brothers'
  • Samson Ryder
    a hard, cold man in Anna Sewell's "Black Beauty" (1877)
  • Samson
    monkey on British children's TV series "Captain Mack"
  • Samson
    character in Ingrid Law's "Savvy" and "Scumble"
  • Samson ("Sam")
    character in the video game "Stardew Valley"

International Variations of the name Samson

  • Sansone
    Italian
  • Sansón
    Spanish
  • Samzun
    Breton
  • Sansao
    Portuguese
  • Simson
    Swedish
  • Samsó
    Basque

The name Samson in Nameberry Blog Posts