Samson

The name Samson is a boy's name of Hebrew origin meaning "sun". With the prevailing popularity of Samuel, some parents are considering this more (literally) powerful biblical name, which shares the desirable nickname of Sam. Samson was, of course, the supernaturally strong champion of the Israelites against the Philistines who was betrayed by Delilah, as dramatized in more than one technicolor epic. But the more it is used for children today, the more the name is able to move away from that image. Sampson is a variant spelling--Sampson Brass is a character in the Dickens novel The Old Curiosity Shop, Samzun is the interesting Celtic spelling, Sansone the Italian version. The story of Samson has been translated into a number of works of art, including Milton's poetic drama Samson Agonistes, an oratorio by Handel, an opera by Saint-Saens, and paintings by Rembrandt and Rubens.