2000
#1,281
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 25,266
First available Census row
Per 100,000 9.37
Uncommon Last name
Simons
Derived from the given name Simon, meaning "he has heard" or "to be heard."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 28,198 Americans carry the last name Simons. That puts it at #1,412 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 8.23 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 12,155 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Simons surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Simons with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
28K
1 in 12,155
Census rank
#1,412
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
8.2
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
25K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 24,590 bearers of the surname Simons in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 8.23 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1412th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Simons, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.3%. The next largest groups are Black (8.0%) and Hispanic (4.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Simons
Among Census respondents with the surname Simons, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.3%. The next largest groups are Black (8.0%) and Hispanic (4.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Simons bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Simons surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.3% · 20,235
- Black or African American8.0% · 1,978
- Hispanic or Latino4.4% · 1,070
- Two or more races3.9% · 954
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 195
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 158
Timeline
Historical Census data for Simons
Simons appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#1,371
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 25,755
+489 bearers (+1.9%)
Per 100,000 8.73
Rank movement Down 90 places
2020
#1,412
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 24,590
-1,165 bearers (-4.5%)
Per 100,000 8.23
Rank movement Down 41 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,281 | 25,266 | 9.37 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,371 | 25,755 | 8.73 | +489 bearers (+1.9%) | Down 90 places |
| 2020 | #1,412 | 24,590 | 8.23 | -1,165 bearers (-4.5%) | Down 41 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Simons surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #1,371 | #1,412 | -3.0% |
| Count | 25,755 | 24,590 | -4.5% |
| Per 100K | 8.73 | 8.23 | -5.8% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Simons bearers went from 25,755 to 24,590 (-4.5% change). The surname moved down 41 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,371 to #1,412.
FAQ
Simons surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Simons?
Name Census estimates that about 28,198 living Americans carry the surname Simons. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 12,155 residents.
How common is Simons?
Simons ranks #1,412 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 8.23 per 100,000 residents, which is about 8 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 24,590 people with the surname Simons. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (28,198), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 8.23 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 8.23 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 8 of them to have the surname Simons.
Has Simons become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Simons went from 25,755 recorded bearers to 24,590. That is a decrease of 1,165 (-4.5%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,371 to #1,412.
What does the Census say about the background of Simons?
Among Census respondents with the surname Simons, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.3%. The next largest groups are Black (8.0%) and Hispanic (4.4%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Simons in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.3% (20,235 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Simons appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (82.3%), Black (8.0%), Hispanic (4.4%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Simons (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Simons mean?
Derived from the given name Simon, meaning "he has heard" or "to be heard." The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Simons (8.23 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How common is the surname Simons?
If you just want to know how many people have the surname Simons, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.