Samson
/ˈsæmsən/
"samson" is a 6-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.
The verdict
“Samson” is a moderately-common English word, ranked #17,475 in English word frequency and used as a proper noun.
- #17,475
- frequency rank, English
- 6
- letters
- 9
- tracked misspellings
- 16
- confusable pairs
According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - An Israelite judge in the Old Testament who performed feats of strength against the Philistines but was betrayed by Delilah his mistress.
Visual similarity to commonly confused words
How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).
Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).
| Property | Value |
|---|---|
| Headword | Samson |
| Language | English |
| Part of speech | Proper noun |
| IPA | /ˈsæmsən/ |
| Letters | 6 |
| Frequency rank | #17,475 |
| Misspellings tracked | 9 |
| Confusable pairs | 16 |
| Source | Wiktionary (kaikki.org) |
Where “Samson” sits in English frequency
Spelling & Dictionary Insight
The English entry for Samson is 6 letters long, classified as a proper noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ˈsæmsən/. Corpus data places it at rank #17,475 in overall English word frequency, marking it as uncommon enough that many writers pause before typing it. Wiktionary records 4 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.
Our generated misspelling index lists 9 likely wrong-spelling variants for Samson, with forms such as "asmson", "sammson", and "samosn". Every one of these variants traces to a single-character edit -- an added or dropped letter, a swapped consonant, or a vowel swap -- the kind of slip a spell-checker is built to catch. It also participates in 16 confusable-pair relationships, "Simon", "Saxon", "season", and more, a pairing that trips writers up because the two words share enough sound or shape to blur together.
Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English Sampson, Sampsoun, Samson, from Latin Samson, from Ancient Greek Σαμψών (Sampsṓn), from Hebrew שִׁמְשׁוֹן. The correct English form is Samson, spelled S-A-M-S-O-N.
Definition
- 1An Israelite judge in the Old Testament who performed feats of strength against the Philistines but was betrayed by Delilah his mistress.
- 2Any very strong man.
- 3A male given name from Hebrew.
- 4An English surname derived from the given name, or from Samuel + son.
Etymology
From Middle English Sampson, Sampsoun, Samson, from Latin Samson, from Ancient Greek Σαμψών (Sampsṓn), from Hebrew שִׁמְשׁוֹן.
This word in other languages
Common misspellings
Also misspelled as: asmson,sammson,samosn,samsno,samsonn,samsson,sasmon,smason,ssamson
Misspelling Pattern Breakdown
How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of Samson - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.
Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.
Frequently Asked Questions
How do you spell "Samson"?
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Using “Samson”
The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.
- The one correct English spelling is S-A-M-S-O-N - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
- Say it as /ˈsæmsən/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
- Don't mix it up with “Simon” - see the side-by-side comparison. Samson vs Simon
- Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source
Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.