Samana was named after the wife of 8th Shia Imam Ali al-Ridha, by their five sons (namely imam Mash'had Ali) who moved from Mashhad to the present day Samana because of political tensions with the then Abbasid Caliphate Al-Ma'mun after Al-Ma'mun poisoned and killed their father Imam Ali al-Ridha. After they get settled in the area, they named the place after their mother; Later, Mash'had Ali died there and his shrine is also located there and many Shia Muslims go there to participate in the annual Symposium held in the premises of the Shrine.