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Samson

boy name
Origin
Hebrew
Syllables
2
Peak era
2010s/2020s
Today
▬ Steady

Torn between Samson and another name? Compare them side by side →

Meaning

traditionally translated as 'of the sun', from Hebrew 'shemesh'

The story

Samson comes from the Hebrew shemesh, "sun," and belongs to the strongest man in Scripture: the hero granted exceptional strength, betrayed by Delilah, shorn, blinded, and still able to bring the temple down on his captors in a final act of strength. That is a lot of story for a birth certificate, which may explain the register's long caution: 169 boys in the 1920s, 255 in the 1960s, steady but small. The modern columns show the caution dissolving: 937 in the 1980s, 1,915 in the 2000s, 3,902 across the 2010s and 3,200 so far this decade. Sam is the everyday handle, same as his quieter cousin Samuel, but the long form carries the sun in it and everyone knows the hair story. The name once read as too big for a birth certificate; the current columns suggest the size is now exactly the point.

More names with stories →

How popular is Samson around the world?

In the United States, 3,200 babies were named Samson between 2020 and 2025. In Norway, 6 boys were given the name Samson in 2025.

Samson is on the official records of the United States, Norway, New Zealand, South Australia, Canada, Scotland, England and Wales, Austria, France, Poland, Spain and Brazil.

United States

1 in 6,800

In the United States, 3,200 babies were named Samson between 2020 and 2025.

1890speak 2010s

Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Samson peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.

Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration

See the full list for the United States →

Norway

1 in 4,800 · register 2026

In Norway, 6 boys were given the name Samson in 2025.

1960peak 2017

share of the boys on the register for that year, SSB’s own figure

People who have or have had a Norwegian ID number, emigrants left out, from Statistics Norway’s name statistics (release of January 2026): by year of birth for 1945–2020 (everyone born that year who was ever registered in Norway, including people who registered later and people who have since died) and by year of naming from 2021; only first names carried by 200 or more living people are listed, counts under 4 are withheld, and SSB merges spellings that differ only by letters outside the Norwegian alphabet. The shares are SSB’s own, of the people of that sex and year in that count; the 2025 figure counts the children named that year, and no year is a count of births. Source: Statistics Norway (SSB), table 10467 (updated 2026-01-28)

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New Zealand

1 in 4,800

In New Zealand, 12 boys named Samson were registered in 2025.

1980peak 2017

share of that year’s name registrations

First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time

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South Australia

1 in 6,100 · 2017

In South Australia, 3 boys were registered as Samson in 2017.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.

Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names

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Canada

1 in 10,000

In Canada, 35 boys named Samson were born in 2024, the 756th most common name among boys that year.

1991peak 2016

share of that year’s name registrations

First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)

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Scotland

1 in 11,000

In Scotland, 4 boys named Samson were registered in 2024, the 619th most common name among boys that year.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.

Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names

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England and Wales

1 in 14,000

In England and Wales, 41 boys named Samson were born in 2025, the 798th most common name among boys that year.

1996peak 20162025

share of that year’s name registrations

Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales

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Austria

1 in 38,000

In Austria, 2 boys named Samson were born in 2025, ranked 1,241st among boys that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
The count never rose above 5 in a year, too few to chart.

Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)

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France

1 in 64,000

In France, about 10 boys named Samson were born in 2025, ranked 2,621st among boys that year.

peak 19172025

share of that year’s births on record

Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)

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Poland

1 in 82,000

In Poland, 3 boys named Samson were born in 2025, the 581st most common name among boys that year.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.

First names given to children born in Poland by year of birth, 2000–2025, from the PESEL population register (Ministry of Digital Affairs); exact spellings count separately (Łukasz and Lukasz are different names), names given fewer than 5 times in a year were left off the list through 2012 and fewer than 2 times from 2013, and the register also counts children born abroad, so its yearly sums run above Poland’s live births. Shares divide by the register’s own published total for the year, never by births. Source: Ministry of Digital Affairs, PESEL register (dane.gov.pl)

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Spain

1 in 500,000

In Spain, 90 residents are named Samson, ranked 9,006th among men, with a mean age of 40.2 years.

Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025

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Brazil

At the 2022 census, 30 people in Brazil were named Samson, ranked 94,398th, with a median age of 33.

People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022

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Ireland

last on record 2024

Samson is not on the 2025 record for Ireland, where names under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 7 in a year, too few to chart.

Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names

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Montevideo City

last on record 1949

Samson is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.

Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial

See the full list for Montevideo →

Not on the record in Mexico City, Argentina and Puerto Rico: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.

Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown.

All records: the most popular baby names around the world →

When you meet Samson

Most people given the name Samson in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.

Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.

Names that fit alongside Samson

Benjamin Jonathan James Isaiah Jeremiah Jude

The Samson deep dive

Written for you · $1.99 →

Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Samson truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Samson fits with your family’s names and surname.

Both reports, explained →

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