Simeon History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
France
Italy
Ireland
Scotland

While surnames were well-known during the English medieval period, Cornish People originally used only a single name. The way in which hereditary surnames came into common use is interesting. Under the Feudal System of government, surnames evolved and they often reflected life on the manor and in the field. Patronymic surnames were derived from given names and were the predominant type of surname among the Celtic peoples of Britain. However, the people of Cornwall provide a surprising exception to this rule, and patronymic surnames are less common among them than other people of Celtic stock, such as their Welsh neighbors. This type of surname blended perfectly with the prevailing Feudal System. One feature that is occasionally found in Cornish surnames of this type is the suffix -oe or -ow; this is derived from the Cornish plural suffix -ow. is a patronymic surname that came from the first name of the bearer's father, meaning literally "son of Simon." Alternatively, the name could have "come from the Domesday name Simund, which is distinct from Simon." 1

Simon was a popular biblical name and comes ultimately from the ancient Hebrew personal name Shimon, meaning "to hearken." 2

The name appears as a character in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales: 'Awake, Simond, the fend is on me fall.'

Early Origins of the Simeon family

The surname Simeon was first found in Devon and in Cornwall, where the family held a family seat since ancient times.

The ancient Latin form of the name Simmunddnrus was listed in the Domesday Book of 1086. 3

Simeon or Symeon of Durham (fl. 1130), was an English historian, a monk of Durham, being thirty-eighth on his own list of the monks of that house. Saint Simeon Stock (1165?-1265), was general of the Carmelite friars and is said to have been born in Kent of noble parents about 1165. "From his earliest years he was devoted to religion, and, according to the legend, owed his surname to the fact that from his twelfth year he lived a hermit's life in the trunk or stock of a tree for twenty years. " 4

Simeon of Warwick (died 1295), was an English historian who became a Benedictine monk at St. Mary's, York, and in 1258 was elected abbot.

In Scotland, the first records of the family were "Symon, capellanus, [who] witnessed a charter by William Bruce to Adam Carlyle, c. 1194-1214, and Symon or Simon, archidiaconus of Aberdeen, a charter witness, 1172." 5

Early History of the Simeon family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Simeon research. Another 113 words (8 lines of text) covering the years 1178, 1273, 1379, 1388, 1475, 1487, 1500, 1525, 1528, 1586, 1614, 1617, 1623, 1624, 1640, 1665, 1687, 1692, 1815 and 1890 are included under the topic Early Simeon History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Simeon Spelling Variations

Cornish surnames are characterized by a multitude of spelling variations. The frequent changes in surnames are due to the fact that the Old and Middle English languages lacked definite spelling rules. The official court languages, which were Latin and French, were also influential on the spelling of a surname. Since the spelling of surnames was rarely consistent in medieval times, and scribes and church officials recorded names as they sounded rather than adhering to any specific spelling rules, it was common to find the same individual referred to with different spellings of their surname in the ancient chronicles. Moreover, a large number of foreign names were brought into England, which accelerated and accentuated the alterations to the spelling of various surnames. Lastly, spelling variations often resulted from the linguistic differences between the people of Cornwall and the rest of England. The Cornish spoke a unique Brythonic Celtic language which was first recorded in written documents during the 10th century. However, they became increasingly Anglicized, and Cornish became extinct as a spoken language in 1777, although it has been revived by Cornish patriots in the modern era. The name has been spelled Symons, Symonds, Symond, Simmins, Simins, Simmonds, Simonds, Simond, Simmons, Simon, Simmon, Simmen, Symon and many more.

Early Notables of the Simeon family

Notable amongst the family at this time was

John Symons, M.P. for Helston in 1388; Thomas Simon (c. 1623-1665), English medalist, born in Yorkshire who studied engraving under Nicholas Briot; Samuel Simmons (1640-1687), an English printer, best...

Simeon Ranking

In the United States, the name Simeon is the 16,344^th most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 6 However, in France, the name Simeon is ranked the 2,253^rd most popular surname with an estimated 2,848 people with that name. 7

Migration of the Simeon family to Ireland

Some of the Simeon family moved to Ireland, but this topic is not covered in this excerpt.
Another 62 words (4 lines of text) about their life in Ireland is included in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Simeon migration to the United States +

An investigation of the immigration and passenger lists has revealed a number of people bearing the name Simeon:

Simeon Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Joseph Simeon, aged 38, who landed in Mobile, Ala in 1846 8
Feliz Eugene Simeon, who arrived in Texas in 1850-1906 8
Seth, Simeon Jr., who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1851 8
Mathias Simeon, who arrived in Texas in 1851 8
Mathis Simeon, who landed in Texas in 1851 8

Contemporary Notables of the name Simeon (post 1700) +

Charles Simeon (1759-1836), English evangelical clergyman, the fourth son of Richard Simeon (d. 1784) of Reading
Sir Richard Godin Simeon (1784-1854), 2nd Baronet, English Liberal Party politician, Member of Parliament for Isle of Wight (1832-1837)
Captain Charles Simeon (1816-1867), English settler, one of the members of the Canterbury Association who emigrated to Canterbury in New Zealand in 1851
Sir John Simeon (b. 1895), 4th Baronet, Member of Parliament for Southampton
Sir John Simeon (1756-1824), 1st Baronet, British politician, Member of Parliament for Reading (1797–1802) and (1806–1818), son of Richard Simeon of Reading, and brother of Charles Simeon
Silvano Simeon (1945-2010), Italian discus thrower
Sir John Simeon (1815-1870), 3rd Baronet, British politician and naval officer
Eric Joseph Simeon (1918-2007), Indian school educationalist
David Simeon (b. 1943), British actor
Arthur Simeon (b. 1983), Uganda-born, Canadian stand-up comedian

Citations +

Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
Black, George F., The Surnames of Scotland Their Origin, Meaning and History. New York: New York Public Library, 1946. Print. (ISBN 0-87104-172-3)
"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)