The name of a biblical character, a 5th C saint, and a 6th C saint. Wycliffite Bible (1395): Sampson.
The name was mostly confined to the British Isles and France, where it was moderately common in the 12th C.
- England
-
- Latin
- ● 1155 Sanson (nom) FPD p. 121, fn. 1;
1189 Samson (nom) GASurv p. 129,
Sanson (nom) ibid. p. 121,
Sansonis (gen) ibid. p. 130;
1256 Sampson (nom) EARNb p. 1
- Dutch
- ● 1584 Samson AuFr Raphaels;
1592 Sampson ibid. Wolbort
- Early Modern English
- ● 1481 Sampson HHB1481-90 p. 5;
1577 Samsen COmar-vol5 p. 5;
1579 Sampson COmar-vol2 p. 71;
1583/4 Sampson SurMus p. 19;
1594 Sampson COmar-vol2 p. 24
- Middle French
- ● 1594 Sampson WCS p. 91
- Walloon
- ● 1583 Sampson RWC p. 7
- France
-
- Latin
- ● c823 Sanson (nom) irminon-vol2 40;
1143 Sanson (nom) CartNDdOurscamp CXIX;
1160 Samson (nom) ibid. CXIV;
1180 Sanson (nom) RotScaNor p. 13,
Sansone (abl) ibid. p. 4;
1208 Sansoni (dat) ChartCaen2 7
- Old French
- ● 1296 Sanson paris1296 p. 48;
1298 Sanson (obl) HistHdVParis p. 142;
1313 Sanson Paris1313 p. 6
- Middle French
- ● 1392 Sanson MemBret-II col. 604;
1561 Sanson RegPCC-1 p. 5;
1562 Sanson ibid. p. 10;
1565 Sanson ibid. p. 194
- Ireland
-
- Latin
- ● fin12thC Samson (nom) MunDocIr III, p. 21,
Samsun (nom) ibid. III, p. 9
- Latvia
-
- Middle Low German
- ● 1523 Sampsons (gen) Arbusow p. 98
- Spain
-
- Latin
- ● 875 Samson (abl) CDCB-XV MMXVI;
1019 Samson (nom) ibid. MMCLXXIV
Cite as: R. Le Get, S.L. Uckelman. "Sampson". In S.L. Uckelman, ed. The Dictionary of Medieval Names from European Sources, Edition 2021, no. 1. http://dmnes.org/2021/1/name/Sampson.