2010
#156,044
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 104
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Simopoulos
A Greek surname indicating someone who lived in or came from Simopoulo, a place name in Greece.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 126 Americans carry the last name Simopoulos. That puts it at #149,446 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,720,273 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Simopoulos 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
126
1 in 2,720,273
Census rank
#149,446
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
110
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 110 bearers of the surname Simopoulos in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 149446th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Simopoulos, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (0.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Simopoulos
The surname Simopoulos originates from Greece and can be traced back to the Byzantine era. It is a compound name derived from the Greek words 'Simon' and 'poulos', with the latter meaning 'son of'. Thus, Simopoulos literally translates to 'son of Simon'.
During the Byzantine period, the practice of adopting patronymic surnames became increasingly common among the Greek population. The name Simopoulos would have been given to the children of a man named Simon, indicating their paternal lineage.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Simopoulos appears in a 14th-century manuscript from the island of Crete, where a certain Georgios Simopoulos is mentioned as a landowner. This suggests that the name had already gained recognition and may have been associated with a family of some prominence at the time.
In the 15th century, a notable figure named Ioannis Simopoulos served as a scribe and calligrapher in the court of the Despots of Morea, a Byzantine territory located in the Peloponnese region of modern-day Greece. His exquisite penmanship and dedication to preserving ancient Greek texts earned him a reputation among scholars of the Renaissance era.
Another individual of historical significance was Konstantinos Simopoulos, a Greek revolutionary who fought alongside the famous Theodoros Kolokotronis during the Greek War of Independence against the Ottoman Empire in the early 19th century. Konstantinos Simopoulos was born in 1792 and played a crucial role in several battles, including the siege of Tripolitsa in 1821.
In the late 19th century, a Greek merchant named Alexandros Simopoulos established a successful trading company in Odessa, then part of the Russian Empire. His business dealings contributed to the growth of the Greek community in the region, and he was known for his philanthropy and support of educational institutions.
Lastly, Georgios Simopoulos, a renowned Greek linguist and scholar, made significant contributions to the study of ancient Greek literature and language. Born in 1872, he served as a professor at the University of Athens and authored several influential works on Greek grammar and syntax before his death in 1948.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Simopoulos
Among Census respondents with the surname Simopoulos, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (0.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Simopoulos 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 Simopoulos surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White95.5% · 105
- Hispanic or Latino3.6% · 4
- Two or more races0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Simopoulos
Simopoulos appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#149,446
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 110
+6 bearers (+5.8%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 6,598 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #156,044 | 104 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #149,446 | 110 | 0.04 | +6 bearers (+5.8%) | Up 6,598 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 Simopoulos 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 | #156,044 | #149,446 | 4.2% |
| Count | 104 | 110 | 5.8% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -8.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Simopoulos bearers went from 104 to 110 (+5.8% change). The surname moved up 6,598 positions in the national ranking, going from #156,044 to #149,446.
FAQ
Simopoulos surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Simopoulos?
Name Census estimates that about 126 living Americans carry the surname Simopoulos. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,720,273 residents.
How common is Simopoulos?
Simopoulos ranks #149,446 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 110 people with the surname Simopoulos. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (126), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Simopoulos.
Has Simopoulos become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Simopoulos went from 104 recorded bearers to 110. That is an increase of 6 (+5.8%). In the national ranking it rose from #156,044 to #149,446.
What does the Census say about the background of Simopoulos?
Among Census respondents with the surname Simopoulos, the largest self-reported group is White at 95.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (3.6%) and Two or More Races (0.9%). 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 Simopoulos in the 2020 Census, accounting for 95.5% (105 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Simopoulos appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (95.5%), Hispanic (3.6%), Two or More Races (0.9%). 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 Simopoulos (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 Simopoulos mean?
A Greek surname indicating someone who lived in or came from Simopoulo, a place name in Greece. 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 Simopoulos (0.04 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 many people have the surname Simopoulos?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.