I samaritani si definiscono שומרים shomrim, cioè "custodi", scilicet della Legge (John Mills, Three months' residence at Nablus, and an account of the modern Samaritans, J. Murray, 1864, pp. 177-178; Benny Thettayil, In spirit and truth: an exegetical study of John 4:19-26 and a theological investigation of the replacement theme in the Fourth Gospel, Peeters Publishers, 2007, p. 323). Il termine "samaritano" deriva invece dall'ebraico שומרונים shomronim, ovvero "abitanti della Samaria".