The Meaning of Sam

I was told the other day by a volunteer that Samuel (or Samael) is a Dog God of Destruction & Vengeance.

That got me thinking into what exactly my name really did mean, and the various versions of it around the world. So far I've got;

• HEBREW: Name of God; asked of God; heard by God. Samuel was the prophet who anointed Saul and David as kings of Israel in the Old Testament.
• JEWISH: Samael is said to be the Angel of Death (the Grim Reaper), the chief ruler of the Fifth Heaven and one of the seven regents of the world served by two million angels; he resides in the Seventh Heaven.
• ANTHROPOSOPHISTS: Samael is known as one of the seven archangels. They may be good or evil; in particular, some of their rank are collaborators of Ahriman, whose purpose (anthroposophists believe) is to alienate humanity from the spiritual world and promote materialism and heartless technical control.
• HELLBOY MOVIE: A demon known as Sammael - a hell-hound with a distinct Lovecraftian appearance. Sammael has the power to reincarnate and split his essence, causing two of the creature's "eggs" to hatch and mature in seconds each time one dies.

Hmm... well, they all seem to be particularly religious, which I'm not. I think I'll stick with it as an old family name (my great-grandfather was a Samuel, and there were quite a few in the family before him) over my new role as the Grim Reaper.

Do you know what your name means / where it comes from?