Simon (given name)
Simon is a given name, from Hebrew שִׁמְעוֹן Šimʻôn, meaning "listen" or "hearing". It is also a classical Greek name, deriving from an adjective meaning "flat-nosed".: 232 In the first century AD, Simon was the most popular male name for Jews in Roman Judea.
St. Simon the Zealot, by Peter Paul Rubens (c. 1611), from his Twelve Apostles series at the Museo del Prado, Madrid | |
| Gender | Male |
|---|---|
| Name day | January 5 (Hungary) May 9 (Eastern Orthodoxy) October 28 (France, Germany, Sweden, Italy, Spain) |
| Origin | |
| Word/name | The Bible |
| Meaning | "listen" |
| Popularity | see popular names |
The Hebrew name is Hellenised as Symeon (Greek: Συμεών) in the Septuagint, and in the New Testament as both Symeon 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.: 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).