Sampson
A masculine name of Hebrew origin meaning "sun child" or "splendid sun".
Name Census estimates that about 2,505 living Americans carry the first name Sampson. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Sampson today is around 38 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sampson births was 2017 (61 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sampson. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Sampson with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
2.5K
~ 1 in 136,828 Americans
Peak year
2017
61 babies that year
Average age
38
years old
2024 SSA rank
#3,498
Tracked since 1880
Census
Sampson in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,249 people with the first name Sampson, which placed it at #6,949 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#6,949
National first-name rank
People counted
2.2K
2,249 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
39.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sampson
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sampson is Black at 39.1%. The next largest groups are White (38.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (7.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Sampson described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Sampson at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American39.1% · 879
- White38.2% · 859
- Asian and Pacific Islander7.2% · 161
- Two or more races5.4% · 122
- Hispanic or Latino5.2% · 117
- American Indian and Alaska Native4.9% · 111
Popularity
Sampson: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sampson from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 445 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 2010s peak, Sampson remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Sampson by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Sampson during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sampsons live
The SSA's state-level files cover 18 states and territories. California, South Carolina, North Carolina recorded the most babies named Sampson, while New York, Minnesota, Massachusetts recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 25 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Sampson
The name Sampson is of Hebrew origin, derived from the biblical figure Samson, known for his great strength and exploits against the Philistines. The name is a variation of the Hebrew word "Shemesh," meaning "sun." It is believed to have originated during the Iron Age, around the 11th century BCE, in the region of ancient Israel.
The name Sampson gained widespread recognition through the biblical account of Samson, a Nazirite and judge of Israel, whose story is recounted in the Book of Judges. Samson was known for his superhuman strength, which he derived from his uncut hair, a symbol of his dedication to God. His exploits, including slaying a lion with his bare hands and toppling the pillars of a Philistine temple, have become legendary.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Sampson can be found in the Old Testament of the Bible, where the story of Samson is narrated. Throughout history, the name has been borne by notable individuals, such as Sampson Handbury (c. 1751-1841), a British entrepreneur and founder of the Handbury Trading Company.
Another famous bearer of the name was Sampson Gamgee (1828-1886), an English surgeon and pioneer in the field of antiseptic surgery. He is known for his contributions to the development of modern surgical practices and his work in improving patient outcomes.
In the realm of literature, Sampson Carrasco was a fictional character in Miguel de Cervantes' novel "Don Quixote." He played a pivotal role in the story, attempting to cure Don Quixote of his delusions by engaging him in staged adventures.
During the American Revolutionary War, Sampson Salter Blowers (1742-1842) was a prominent lawyer and judge who served as the Attorney General of Nova Scotia. He played a significant role in the legal and political landscape of the time.
Another notable figure was Sampson Handley (1759-1826), an English architect who designed several notable buildings, including the Old Library at Downing College, Cambridge, and the Royal Pavilion in Brighton.
These are just a few examples of the many individuals throughout history who have borne the name Sampson, a name deeply rooted in biblical and cultural significance, and associated with strength, courage, and legendary exploits.
People
Sampson + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sampson as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Sampson: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sampson?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,505 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sampson going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 136,828 US residents.
Is Sampson a common name?
We classify Sampson as "Rare". It ranks above 94.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,866 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sampson most popular?
The single biggest year for Sampson was 2017, when 61 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sampson is about 38 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Sampson in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,249 people with the name Sampson, or 0.74 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,949 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Sampson in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Sampson?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Sampson appears almost entirely male. Of the 2,243 people counted with this name, 99.2% were male and only a very small share were female. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Sampson?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sampson is Black at 39.1%. The next largest groups are White (38.2%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (7.2%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Sampson most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Sampson in the 2020 Census, accounting for 39.1% (879 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Sampson in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sampson a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Sampson in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Sampson still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sampson in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Sampson can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people share the name Sampson?
You can see how many people share the name Sampson on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.