Find out how popular the last name Sampson is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Sampson.

Sampson, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Sampson surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Sampson in America

Sampson is the 886th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Sampson surname appeared 39,277 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 13 people would have the surname Sampson.

We can also compare 2010 data for Sampson to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name 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.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Sampson

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Sampson.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Sampson was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Sampson has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Sampson was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Sampson, please contact us.

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