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

Simons, 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 Simons surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Simons in America

Simons is the 1371st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Simons surname appeared 25,755 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 9 people would have the surname Simons.

We can also compare 2010 data for Simons 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 Simons

The surname Simons originated in the Middle Ages as a patronymic, meaning "son of Simon." It derived from the ancient Hebrew name Shimon, which meant "he has heard." The name was carried into Europe by early Christians and its earliest known bearers were primarily located in England, France, and Germany.

In England, the Simons surname can be traced back to the Domesday Book of 1086, where it appeared in various spellings such as Simund and Symon. One of the earliest recorded individuals with this name was Roger Simons, who was mentioned in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire in 1191.

The name also has a strong presence in the historical records of France, where it was often spelled as Simon or Symon. One notable figure bearing this surname was Pierre Simon, a French philosopher and mathematician born in 1639, who made significant contributions to the development of calculus and the theory of probability.

In Germany, the Simons surname was more commonly spelled as Siemonsen or Siemens. A famous bearer of this name was Werner von Siemens, a German inventor and industrialist born in 1816, who founded the Siemens AG company, one of the largest engineering firms in the world.

Another notable individual with the Simons surname was Menno Simons, a Dutch priest and religious reformer born in 1496, who played a crucial role in the formation of the Mennonite church. His teachings and writings had a lasting impact on the Anabaptist movement in Europe.

In the United States, the Simons surname has a long history dating back to the colonial era. One of the earliest recorded individuals was Jeremiah Simons, who was born in Massachusetts in 1680. Another notable figure was Raphael Semmes, a famous Confederate naval officer during the American Civil War, whose surname was sometimes spelled as Simons.

Throughout its history, the Simons surname has also been associated with various place names, such as Simonstown in South Africa, Simonsbath in England, and Simons Valley in Canada. These locations likely derived their names from individuals bearing the Simons surname who lived or owned land in those areas.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Simons

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

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 Simons 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 Simons 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 Simons was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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