Sampson surname meaning

Sampson is an English, Welsh, and Jewish spelling variant of Samson, from the Biblical personal name Hebrew Shimshon (the -p- entered through Greek). Christians sometimes chose the name for the hero’s strength; in Wales it also recalled Saint Samson of Dol. DAFN notes a separate Norman habitational route from French places called Saint-Samson, and Americanized Samson forms from French, Breton, German, and Dutch. Samson, Sansom, and Sanson are close spellings. Parent’s name is high confidence for the Biblical and saint’s-name lead that dominates the entry, with the French place-name sense treated as secondary.