Show ContentsSimmons History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

The notable Simmons family arose among the Cornish People, a race with a rich Celtic heritage and an indomitable fighting spirit who inhabited the southwest of England. 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. As the population of medieval Europe multiplied, people began to assume an extra name to avoid confusion and to further identify themselves. 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 is due to the greater influence of English bureaucracy and naming practices in Cornwall at the time that surnames first arose. 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 Simmons family

The surname Simmons 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 Simmons family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Simmons 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 Simmons History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Simmons 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 Simmons 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...

Simmons World Ranking

In the United States, the name Simmons is the 92nd most popular surname with an estimated 226,317 people with that name. [6] However, in Canada, the name Simmons is ranked the 676th most popular surname with an estimated 7,720 people with that name. [7] And in Newfoundland, Canada, the name Simmons is the 433rd popular surname with an estimated 108 people with that name. [8] Australia ranks Simmons as 363rd with 9,978 people. [9] New Zealand ranks Simmons as 453rd with 1,525 people. [10] The United Kingdom ranks Simmons as 321st with 19,184 people. [11]

Ireland Migration of the Simmons family to Ireland

Some of the Simmons 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.


United States Simmons migration to the United States +

A look at the immigration and passenger lists has shown a number of people bearing the name Simmons:

Simmons Settlers in United States in the 17th Century
  • Moses Simmons, who arrived in Plymouth, Massachusetts in 1621 [12]
  • Abram Simmons, who arrived in Maryland in 1634
  • Oliver Simmons, who landed in Virginia in 1638 [12]
  • Thomas Simmons, who arrived in Maryland in 1639 [12]
  • Robert Simmons, who arrived in Maryland in 1662 [12]
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Simmons Settlers in United States in the 18th Century
  • Balthazer Simmons, who landed in Pennsylvania in 1750 [12]
  • Catherin Simmons, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1792 [12]
  • Frederick Simmons, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1792 [12]
  • Melchoir Simmons, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1792 [12]
  • Ludwig Simmons, who arrived in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in 1792 [12]
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Simmons Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • John Simmons, who landed in America in 1806 [12]
  • James L Simmons, aged 27, who arrived in Connecticut in 1812 [12]
  • William Simmons, who landed in New York, NY in 1817 [12]
  • Francis Simmons, who landed in Allegany (Allegheny) County, Pennsylvania in 1825 [12]
  • Mr. R. Simmons, (b. 1807), aged 34, Cornish settler departing from Falmouth aboard the ship "Cornwall" arriving in the United States on 3 June 1841 [13]
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Canada Simmons migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Simmons Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century
  • William Simmons, who arrived in Halifax, Nova Scotia in 1778
  • Ms. Esther Simmons U.E. who arrived at Port Roseway, [Shelbourne], Nova Scotia on October 26, 1783 was passenger number 107 aboard the ship "HMS Clinton", picked up on September 20, 1783 at East River, New York, USA [14]
  • Lieut. Henry Simmons U.E. (b. 1740) born in Teerbosch, New York, USA who settled in Ernest Town [Ernestown], Lennox & Addington, Ontario c. 1784 he served in Jessup's Corps as well as Loyal Rangers, married to Anna Margaretha Bonenstiehl having 7 children [14]
  • Mr. James Simmons U.E. who settled in St. Andrews, Charlotte County, New Brunswick c. 1784 [14]
  • Mr. John Simmons U.E. who settled in Canada c. 1784 [14]
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)
Simmons Settlers in Canada in the 19th Century
  • Edward Simmons, aged 20, who arrived in Canada in 1815
  • Mary Simmons, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1830
  • Stephen Simmons, who landed in Canada in 1836
  • Isaac Simmons, who landed in Canada in 1841

Australia Simmons migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Simmons Settlers in Australia in the 18th Century
  • Mr. Robert Simmons, English convict who was convicted in Middlesex, England for life, transported aboard the "Barwell" in September 1797, arriving in New South Wales, Australia [15]
Simmons Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century
  • John Simmons, English convict from Warwick, who was transported aboard the "Ann" on August 1809, settling in New South Wales, Australia [16]
  • Mr. John Simmons, English convict who was convicted in Middlesex, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Baring" in April 1815, arriving in New South Wales, Australia [17]
  • Mr. Charles Simmons, English convict who was convicted in Devon, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Fame" on 9th October 1816, arriving in New South Wales, Australia [18]
  • Mr. Jeremiah Simmons, English convict who was convicted in Gloucester, Gloucestershire, England for 7 years, transported aboard the "Baring" in December 1818, arriving in New South Wales, Australia [17]
  • Mr. Stephen Simmons, British Convict who was convicted in Southampton, Hampshire, England for life, transported aboard the "Coromandel" on 27th October 1819, arriving in Tasmania (Van Diemen's Land) [19]
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

New Zealand Simmons migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Simmons Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century
  • Weston Simmons, who landed in Auckland, New Zealand in 1842
  • Miss Fanny Simmons, (b. 1825), aged 28, British settler travelling from London aboard the ship "Egmont" arriving in Lyttelton, Canterbury, New Zealand on 23rd December 1853 [20]
  • Miss Margaret Simmons, (b. 1842), aged 14, British general servant travelling from London aboard the ship "Isabella Hercus" arriving in Lyttelton, Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand on 4th January 1856 [20]
  • Charles Simmons, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Ann Wilson" in 1857
  • Ann Simmons, who arrived in Wellington, New Zealand aboard the ship "Ann Wilson" in 1857
  • ... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

West Indies Simmons migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. [21]
Simmons Settlers in West Indies in the 17th Century
  • Flurance Simmons, a servant sent to Barbados in 1662

Contemporary Notables of the name Simmons (post 1700) +

  • Jeffery Bernard Simmons Jr. (b. 1997), American football defensive end for the Tennessee Titans of the National Football League
  • Jerry Simmons (1946-2023), American tennis coach, inducted into the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Hall of Fame in 1998
  • Curtis Thomas Simmons (1929-2022), American Major League Baseball left-handed pitcher, who played from 1947 to 1950 and 1952 to 1967, a three-time MLB All-Star
  • Louie Simmons (1947-2022), American powerlifter and strength coach; he developed the Westside Conjugate method of training and applying it to powerlifting and other sports
  • Norman Simmons (1929-2021), American arranger, composer, educator, and pianist who worked with Helen Humes, Carmen McRae, Sarah Vaughan, Anita O'Day, and Joe Williams
  • Huey "Sonny" Simmons (1933-2021), American jazz musician from Sicily Island, Louisiana
  • George Finlay Simmons (1925-2019), American mathematician who worked in topology and classical analysis
  • Henry Simmons (b. 1970), American Black Film Festival Award winning actor, known for his roles in NYPD Blue (1993), Another World (1964) and Taxi (2004)
  • Charles Paul Simmons (1924-2017), American editor and novelist
  • Lonnie Alexander "Lon" Simmons (1923-2015), American baseball and football broadcaster, awarded the 2004 Ford C. Frick Award
  • ... (Another 150 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Air New Zealand Flight 901
  • Mr. Stephen George Simmons (1959-1979), New Zealander Flight Steward, from Auckland, New Zealand working aboard the Air New Zealand sightseeing Flight 901 when it flew into Mount Erebus; he died in the crash [22]
Arrow Air Flight 1285
  • Mr. George Henry Simmons (1958-1985), American Specialist 4th Class from Wilmington, North Carolina, USA who died in the Arrow Air Flight 1285 crash [23]
  • Mr. Carl Nelson Simmons (1965-1985), American Specialist 4th Class from Banks, Alabama, USA who died in the Arrow Air Flight 1285 crash [23]
Halifax Explosion
  • Mrs. Mary  Simmons (1894-1917), Canadian resident from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada who died in the Halifax Explosion (1917) [24]
  • Mrs. Mary  Simmons (1896-1917), Canadian resident from Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada who died in the Halifax Explosion (1917) [24]
HMS Hood
  • Mr. Ernest A Simmons (b. 1919), English Stoker 1st Class serving for the Royal Navy from Southampton, Hampshire, England, who sailed into battle and died in the HMS Hood sinking [25]
HMS Royal Oak
  • Oliver Alfred John Simmons (1917-1939), British Joiner 4th Class with the Royal Navy aboard the HMS Royal Oak (1939) when she was torpedoed by U-47 and sunk; he died in the sinking [26]
  • John Spiller Simmons (1923-1939), British Boy 1st Class with the Royal Navy aboard the HMS Royal Oak (1939) when she was torpedoed by U-47 and sunk; he died in the sinking [26]
RMS Titanic
  • Mr. John Simmons (d. 1912), aged 39, Third Class passenger who sailed aboard the RMS Titanic and died in the sinking [27]
USS Arizona
  • Mr. Claude W. Simmons Jr., American Seaman First Class working aboard the ship "USS Arizona" when she sunk during the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor on 7th December 1941, he survived the sinking [28]


  1. Lower, Mark Anthony, Patronymica Britannica, A Dictionary of Family Names of the United Kingdom. London: John Russel Smith, 1860. Print.
  2. Smith, Eldson Coles, New Dictionary of American Family Names New York: Harper & Row, 1956. Print
  3. Williams, Dr Ann. And G.H. Martin, Eds., Domesday Book A Complete Translation. London: Penguin, 1992. Print. (ISBN 0-141-00523-8)
  4. Smith, George (ed), Dictionary of National Biography. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1885-1900. Print
  5. 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)
  6. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  7. "Surnames Meanings, Origins & Distribution Maps - Forebears." Forebears, https://forebears.io/surnames
  8. The order of Common Surnames in 1955 in Newfoundland retrieved on 20th October 2021 (retrieved from Family Names of the Island of Newfoundland by E.R. Seary corrected edition ISBN 0-7735-1782-0)
  9. "Most Common Last Names in Australia." Forebears, https://forebears.io/australia/surnames
  10. "Most Common Last Names in New Zealand." Forebears, https://forebears.io/new-zealand/surnames
  11. "UK surname ranking." UK Surname map, https://www.surnamemap.eu/unitedkingdom/surnames_ranking.php?p=10
  12. 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)
  13. Cornwall Online Parish Clerks. (Retrieved 2018, April 30). Emigrants to New York 1820 - 1891 [PDF]. Retrieved from http://www.opc-cornwall.org/Resc/pdfs/emigration_new_york_1820_1891.pdf
  14. Rubincam, Milton. The Old United Empire Loyalists List. Genealogical Publishing Co., Inc, 1976. (Originally published as; United Empire Loyalists. The Centennial of the Settlement of Upper Canada. Rose Publishing Company, 1885.) ISBN 0-8063-0331-X
  15. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 29th September 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/barwell
  16. State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2016, October 27) Ann voyage to New South Wales, Australia in 1809 with 200 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/ann/1809
  17. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 16th September 2020). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/baring
  18. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 27th September 2022). https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/fairlie
  19. Convict Records Voyages to Australia (Retrieved 12th March 2021). Retrieved from https://convictrecords.com.au/ships/coromandel
  20. New Zealand Yesteryears Passenger Lists 1800 to 1900 (Retrieved 17th October 2018). Retrieved from http://www.yesteryears.co.nz/shipping/passlist.html
  21. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
  22. Mount Erebus, Memorial, Roll of Remembrance (Retrieved 2018, February 21st). Retrieved from http://www.erebus.co.nz/memorialandawards/rollofremembrance.aspx
  23. American War Memorials - Flight 1285. (Retrieved 2016, August 24) . Retrieved from http://www.uswarmemorials.org/html/monument_details.php?SiteID=317&MemID=550
  24. Halifax Explosion Book of Remembrance | Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. (Retrieved 2014, June 23) . Retrieved from https://maritimemuseum.novascotia.ca/what-see-do/halifax-explosion/halifax-explosion-book-remembrance
  25. H.M.S. Hood Association-Battle Cruiser Hood: Crew Information - H.M.S. Hood Rolls of Honour, Men Lost in the Sinking of H.M.S. Hood, 24th May 1941. (Retrieved 2016, July 15) . Retrieved from http://www.hmshood.com/crew/memorial/roh_24may41.htm
  26. Ships hit by U-boats crew list HMS Royal Oak (08) - (Retrieved 2018 February, 9th) - retrieved from https://uboat.net/allies/merchants/crews/ship68.html
  27. Titanic Passenger List - Titanic Facts. (Retrieved 2016, July 13) . Retrieved from http://www.titanicfacts.net/titanic-passenger-list.html
  28. Pearl Harbour: USS Arizona Casualties List Pearl Harbour December 7, 1941. (Retrieved 2018, July 31st). Retrieved from http://pearl-harbor.com/arizona/casualtylist.html


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