Samson

Samson meaning

Samson is a Christian boy's name of Hebrew origin.

Sunlight (from shemesh, 'sun')

Also used to mean: child of the sun

Samson comes from Hebrew Shimshon, which Strong's Concordance derives from shemesh, 'the sun', and renders 'sunlight'; name lists also give 'little sun' or 'child of the sun'. In the Book of Judges, Samson is the Nazirite strong man whose hair was never cut, who fought the Philistines single-handed, lost his strength when Delilah had his hair shaved and, blind and captive, pulled down the temple of Dagon in a last act of strength. His story has long made the name a byword for strength. In India Samson is used in Christian families.

Source: Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible (1890), Hebrew and Chaldee Dictionary, H8123 · entry Shimshown · See the entry · checked 25 Oct 2026

References: Strong's H8123, Shimshown (Bible Hub) · Wikipedia, Samson

Famous namesakes

• Samson, judge of Israel (Judges 13–16)

Popularity abroad

• #477 United States, boys 2025 (up 45 from 522 in 2024)
  US Social Security Administration
• #798 England and Wales, boys 2025
  Office for National Statistics

Official birth registrations. India publishes no national name statistics.

Spellings

Samson · Sampson · Simson

Related names

Also meaning light

Also starting with Sam-

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