2000
#844
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 37,234
First available Census row
Per 100,000 13.80
Uncommon Last name
Sampson
Derived from the Hebrew name "Shimshon," meaning "man of the sun" or "sun's man."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 43,256 Americans carry the last name Sampson. That puts it at #913 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 12.62 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 7,924 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sampson surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Sampson with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
43K
1 in 7,924
Census rank
#913
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
12.6
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
38K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 37,721 bearers of the surname Sampson in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 12.62 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 913th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sampson, the largest self-reported group is White at 58.0%. The next largest groups are Black (29.4%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sampson
The surname Sampson originated in England in the medieval period. It is an English patronymic surname derived from the personal name Samson, which is ultimately from the Hebrew name Shimshon, meaning "sun". The name was borne by a biblical figure renowned for his great strength.
In the Domesday Book of 1086, a census record compiled by William the Conqueror, the name appears as Samsone, reflecting its early spelling variations. Some early examples of the surname include Sampson de Newenton in Lincolnshire during the reign of King John (1199-1216) and Richard Sampson in the Subsidy Rolls of Sussex in 1327.
One of the earliest known bearers of the surname was Richard Sampson (c.1435-1505), an English ecclesiastic who served as Bishop of Chichester and later Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield. Another notable figure was William Sampson (c.1505-1589), a prominent English lawyer and Member of Parliament during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
In the 17th century, the Sampson family established themselves as influential landowners in Nottinghamshire, with the birth of Sir William Sampson (1599-1655), an English politician who served as a Member of Parliament and Vice-President of the Council of State during the English Civil War.
During the American Revolutionary War, Deborah Sampson (1760-1827) gained recognition as a woman who disguised herself as a man to serve in the Continental Army under the name Robert Shurtleff. After the war, she became one of the first women to receive a military pension from the United States government.
Another noteworthy individual was Rear Admiral William Thomas Sampson (1840-1902), a United States Navy officer who served as the commander of the North Atlantic Squadron during the Spanish-American War and is credited with leading the naval bombardment of San Juan, Puerto Rico, in 1898.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sampson
Among Census respondents with the surname Sampson, the largest self-reported group is White at 58.0%. The next largest groups are Black (29.4%) and Two or More Races (4.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Sampson bearers 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 surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Sampson surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White58.0% · 21,886
- Black or African American29.4% · 11,080
- Two or more races4.5% · 1,694
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 1,425
- American Indian and Alaska Native3.4% · 1,301
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 335
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sampson
Sampson appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#886
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 39,277
+2,043 bearers (+5.5%)
Per 100,000 13.32
Rank movement Down 42 places
2020
#913
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 37,721
-1,556 bearers (-4.0%)
Per 100,000 12.62
Rank movement Down 27 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #844 | 37,234 | 13.80 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #886 | 39,277 | 13.32 | +2,043 bearers (+5.5%) | Down 42 places |
| 2020 | #913 | 37,721 | 12.62 | -1,556 bearers (-4.0%) | Down 27 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Sampson surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #886 | #913 | -3.0% |
| Count | 39,277 | 37,721 | -4.0% |
| Per 100K | 13.32 | 12.62 | -5.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sampson bearers went from 39,277 to 37,721 (-4.0% change). The surname moved down 27 positions in the national ranking, going from #886 to #913.
FAQ
Sampson surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sampson?
Name Census estimates that about 43,256 living Americans carry the surname Sampson. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 7,924 residents.
How common is Sampson?
Sampson ranks #913 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 12.62 per 100,000 residents, which is about 13 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 37,721 people with the surname Sampson. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (43,256), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 12.62 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 12.62 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 13 of them to have the surname Sampson.
Has Sampson become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sampson went from 39,277 recorded bearers to 37,721. That is a decrease of 1,556 (-4.0%). In the national ranking it fell from #886 to #913.
What does the Census say about the background of Sampson?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sampson, the largest self-reported group is White at 58.0%. The next largest groups are Black (29.4%) and Two or More Races (4.5%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Sampson in the 2020 Census, accounting for 58.0% (21,886 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sampson appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (58.0%), Black (29.4%), Two or More Races (4.5%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Sampson (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Sampson mean?
Derived from the Hebrew name "Shimshon," meaning "man of the sun" or "sun's man." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Sampson (12.62 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people are called Sampson?
If you just want to know how many Americans have the surname Sampson, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.