2000
#11,245
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,582
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.96
Rare Last name
Simonton
A habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "Simon's town" or "settlement belonging to Simon."
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,813 Americans carry the last name Simonton. That puts it at #12,128 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.82 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 121,847 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Simonton 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.
Bearers in the US
2.8K
1 in 121,847
Census rank
#12,128
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.5K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,453 bearers of the surname Simonton in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.82 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12128th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Simonton, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.2%. The next largest groups are Black (9.5%) and Hispanic (3.8%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Simonton
The surname Simonton is believed to have originated in France, likely in the 16th or 17th century. It is derived from the Old French word "simon," which was a variant of the given name Simon. This name ultimately traces its roots back to the ancient Hebrew name Shimon, meaning "he has heard" or "he has listened."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Simonton surname can be found in the Registers of the French Protestant Church in London, where a Jacques Simonton is mentioned in 1643. It is possible that this individual or his ancestors fled religious persecution in France and sought refuge in England.
In the late 17th century, several Simonton families emigrated from France and settled in Ireland, particularly in the Ulster region. This likely occurred during the Huguenot diaspora, when many French Protestants were forced to leave their homeland due to religious intolerance and persecution.
Notable individuals with the Simonton surname include John Simonton (1752-1839), an American Presbyterian minister and educator who served as the third president of Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia. Another prominent figure was James Simonton (1817-1900), an American naval officer and diplomat who served as the United States Minister to the Dominican Republic from 1873 to 1877.
In the 19th century, William Simonton (1815-1900) was a Scottish-born American businessman and politician who served as the 11th Governor of Montana from 1901 to 1908. Another individual of note was Andrew Simonton (1737-1805), a Scottish-born merchant and political figure who served as the first Speaker of the Nova Scotia House of Assembly.
Additionally, there are records of the Simonton name being associated with various place names in Scotland and Ireland, such as Simonton Farm in Ayrshire, Scotland, and the townland of Simonton in County Antrim, Northern Ireland.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Simonton
Among Census respondents with the surname Simonton, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.2%. The next largest groups are Black (9.5%) and Hispanic (3.8%).
The bar chart below shows how Simonton 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 Simonton surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White82.2% · 2,017
- Black or African American9.5% · 232
- Hispanic or Latino3.8% · 94
- Two or more races3.4% · 83
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 23
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Simonton
Simonton 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
#12,101
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,575
-7 bearers (-0.3%)
Per 100,000 0.87
Rank movement Down 856 places
2020
#12,128
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,453
-122 bearers (-4.7%)
Per 100,000 0.82
Rank movement Down 27 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #11,245 | 2,582 | 0.96 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #12,101 | 2,575 | 0.87 | -7 bearers (-0.3%) | Down 856 places |
| 2020 | #12,128 | 2,453 | 0.82 | -122 bearers (-4.7%) | Down 27 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 Simonton 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 | #12,101 | #12,128 | -0.2% |
| Count | 2,575 | 2,453 | -4.7% |
| Per 100K | 0.87 | 0.82 | -5.7% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Simonton bearers went from 2,575 to 2,453 (-4.7% change). The surname moved down 27 positions in the national ranking, going from #12,101 to #12,128.
FAQ
Simonton surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Simonton?
Name Census estimates that about 2,813 living Americans carry the surname Simonton. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 121,847 residents.
How common is Simonton?
Simonton ranks #12,128 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.82 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,453 people with the surname Simonton. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,813), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.82 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.82 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Simonton.
Has Simonton become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Simonton went from 2,575 recorded bearers to 2,453. That is a decrease of 122 (-4.7%). In the national ranking it fell from #12,101 to #12,128.
What does the Census say about the background of Simonton?
Among Census respondents with the surname Simonton, the largest self-reported group is White at 82.2%. The next largest groups are Black (9.5%) and Hispanic (3.8%). 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 Simonton in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.2% (2,017 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Simonton appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (82.2%), Black (9.5%), Hispanic (3.8%). 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 Simonton (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 Simonton mean?
A habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "Simon's town" or "settlement belonging to Simon." 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 Simonton (0.82 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 Simonton?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans have the surname Simonton on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.