Sampson Coat of Arms, Family Crest and Sampson Family History

Sampson Family History

The ancient origin of the name Sampson was found in the irishsurnames.com archives. Meaning 'the son of Samson', Sampson is a baptismal name. Variants of the name include Samson, Sansom, Sansome, Sanson, Sansum and Samsen. This name was widely adopted in direct reference to the great strength of the biblical character and also of a sixth century Welsh Bishop, who travelled to Brittany where he died and was greatly venerated. This name is of Anglo-Norman descent spreading to Ireland, Scotland and Wales in early times and is found in many mediaeval manuscripts in these countries. Examples of such are a Sansum le Rus, County Cambridge, who was recorded in the 'Hundred Rolls', England, in the year 1273 and a John Sampson and Elizabeth Clarke who were married in Saint Michaels, Cornhill, in the year 1559. In Scotland Samson was the first Bishop of Dunkeld in the year 1150, and a Laurence Samson was a witness in Lanarkshire in the year 1513. The names Samson and Sampson in Ireland are usually of immigrant origin having been introduced into the country by settlers as early as the fourteenth century. During the seventeenth century these names became prominent in County Limerick and were also brought into the Province of Ulster. These names are therefore today quite widely dispersed.The Sampson family crest (or coat of arms) came into existence many centuries ago. The process of creating these coats of arms began as early as the eleventh century although a form of Proto-Heraldry may have existed in some countries prior to this, including Ireland. The new more formalized art of Heraldry made it possible for families and even individual family members to have their very own family crest, coat of arms, including Sampson descendants.