Samples
A variant form of the surname Sample, probably arising from a medieval personal name or local-name form rather than the modern word "sample."
The #4,099 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 35,640 Americans shares it.
Etymology
The strongest historical clue is that Samples is treated as a variant of Sample, with older spellings such as Semples, Simpoles, and Simples. One line of scholarship connects Sample to St. Paul/Paul-related forms, suggesting a saint-based or name-derived origin that later shifted in spelling. Another thread in the record links the name ultimately to Samson/Sampson, but the evidence in the excerpts is not decisive, so the exact root should be treated cautiously.
History
In Britain the name appears mainly as a spelling variant of Sample and related forms, rather than as an independent surname. Nineteenth- and early twentieth-century surname writers often grouped it with surnames that had been reshaped by local pronunciation and clerical spelling. In the United States it is now uncommon but established, likely reflecting immigration from the British Isles.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Early surname collectors noted a surprising cluster of spellings for this family name, including Semples, Samples, Sempills, and Simpoles.
From the historical record
“SAMPLES, Sample's (Son) : v. Sample. SAMSOn'^ } ■ Splendid Sun [Heb. Shimshdii] Samsones strenc)>e, }>et slouh a {>usund of his fon [foes] al et one time. — Ancren Riwle (' Luve '). We find both forms of the name in mediaeval German literature, e.g. Sampson in Hugo von Montfort's i4th-cent. ' Tage-”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)