Simon (given name)

Simon is a common name, from Hebrew שִׁמְעוֹן Šimʻôn, meaning "listen" or "hearing".[1] It is also a classical Greek name, deriving from an adjective meaning "flat-nosed".[2]:232[3] In the first century CE, Simon was the most popular male name for Jews in Roman Judea.[4]

Simon
St. Simon the Zealot, by Peter Paul Rubens (c. 1611), from his Twelve Apostles series at the Museo del Prado, [Madrid]
GenderMale
Name dayJanuary 5 (Hungary)

May 9 (Eastern Orthodoxy)

October 28 (France, Germany, Sweden, Italy, Spain)
Origin
Word/nameThe Bible
Meaning"listen"
Popularitysee popular names

The Hebrew name is Hellenised as Symeon (Greek: Συμεών) in the Septuagint, and in the New Testament as both Symeon[5] and, according to most authorities, Simon. Some commentators on the New Testament say that it could be a Hellenised form of the Hebrew Shim'on, but if not then it indicates that Peter came from a "Hellenistic background"; this was not unheard of in this era, as contemporary Jews such as Andrew the Apostle (Simon’s brother) sometimes bore originally Greek names.[6]:58

Simon is one Latinised version of the name, the others being Simeon or Symeon. This practice carried over into English: in the King James Version, the name Simeon Niger is spelt Simeon (Acts 13:1) as is Simeon (Gospel of Luke) (Luke 2:25), while Peter is called Simon (John 1:44).

In other languages

List of people with the given name Simon

Simon is a common name and below is just a selection of notable people. For a comprehensive list see All pages with titles beginning with Simon.

Ancient

Medieval

Renaissance to modern

Biblical characters

Fictional characters

See also

Notes
  1. Smith, William, Dr. (1901) "Entry for 'Simon'". Smith's Bible Dictionary.
  2. Barnett, Paul (2002). Jesus & the Rise of Early Christianity: A History of New Testament Times. Intervarsity Press. ISBN 9780830826995.
  3. Σίμων. Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; A Greek–English Lexicon at the Perseus Project
  4. Ilan, Tal (2002) Lexicon of Jewish Names in Late Antiquity: Palestine 330 BCE–200 CE (Texts & Studies in Ancient Judaism, 91), Coronet Books, pp. 56–57; Hachili, R. "Hebrew Names, Personal Names, Family Names and Nicknames of Jews in the Second Temple Period," in J. W. van Henten and A. Brenner, eds., Families and Family Relations as Represented in Early Judaism and Early Christianity (STAR 2; Leiden:Deo, 2000), pp. 113–115; apud Bauckham, Richard (2017). Jesus and the Eyewitnesses (2nd ed.). Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing. pp. 68–72. ISBN 9780802874313. Quote (p. 71): 15.6% of men bore one of the two most popular male names, Simon and Joseph; (p. 72): for the Gospels and Acts... 18.2% of men bore one of the two most popular male names, Simon and Joseph.
  5. Greek word #4826 in Strong's Concordance
  6. Lachs, Samuel (1987). A Rabbinic Commentary on the New Testament: The Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke. KTAV Publishing House, Inc. ISBN 9780881250893.
  7. Harper, Douglas. "Simon". Online Etymology Dictionary.
  8. σιμός. Liddell, Henry George; Scott, Robert; A Greek–English Lexicon at the Perseus Project.
  9. Walter Burkert, Greek Religion, Harvard University Press, 1985, p. 182.
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