Find out how popular the last name Simmons is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Simmons.

Simmons, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Simmons surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Simmons in America

Simmons is the 114th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Simmons surname appeared 210,182 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 71 people would have the surname Simmons.

We can also compare 2010 data for Simmons to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Simmons

The surname Simmons is of English origin, derived from the medieval given name Sim, a shortened form of Simon. The name Simon itself is derived from the Hebrew name Shim'on, meaning "to hearken" or "he has heard." The surname likely emerged in the 12th or 13th century as a patronymic, meaning "son of Sim."

The earliest recorded instances of the surname Simmons can be found in various English records, such as the Hundred Rolls of Oxfordshire from 1273, which mentions a Nicholas Symound. The Subsidy Rolls of Sussex from 1296 also list a John Symond. These early spellings, like Symound and Symond, reflect the evolution of the name from its original form.

The Simmons surname appears in several notable historical records, including the Domesday Book of 1086, which mentions a landowner named Simundus in Gloucestershire. In the 13th century, a Robert Simond is recorded as a witness to a charter in Northamptonshire in 1240.

Over the centuries, the Simmons surname has been associated with several notable individuals. One of the earliest was William Simmons (c. 1390-1458), an English clergyman who served as Bishop of Carlisle from 1436 until his death. In the 16th century, Thomas Simmons (c. 1510-1580) was an English printer and publisher who is known for printing the first edition of the Geneva Bible in 1560.

In the 17th century, Bartholomew Simmons (c. 1610-1687) was an English merchant and colonist who settled in Virginia in the 1630s and became a prominent landowner and planter. Another notable figure was Samuel Simmons (1628-1698), an English poet and translator who is best known for his translations of works by French authors.

During the 18th century, Ebenezer Simmons (1717-1787) was an American Baptist minister and author who played a significant role in the development of the Baptist church in New England. In the 19th century, Franklin Simmons (1839-1913) was an American businessman and philanthropist who founded the Simmons Bedding Company, a leading manufacturer of mattresses and bedding products.

These examples illustrate the long and rich history of the Simmons surname, which has been borne by individuals from various walks of life, including clergy, writers, merchants, and entrepreneurs, among others.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Simmons

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Simmons.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Simmons was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Simmons has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Simmons was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Simmons, please contact us.

Reference this page

We spend a lot of resources downloading, cleaning, merging, and formatting the data that is shown on the site.

If you found the data or information on this page useful in your research, please use the tool below to properly cite or reference Name Census as the source. We appreciate your support!