Simon is a common name, from

Hebrew Hebrew (; ; ) is a Northwest Semitic language of the Afroasiatic language family. Historically, it is one of the spoken languages of the Israelites and their longest-surviving descendants, the Jews and Samaritans. It was largely preserved ...

שִׁמְעוֹן '' Šimʻôn'', meaning "listen" or "hearing". It is also a classical Greek name, deriving from an adjective meaning "flat-nosed". In the first century AD, Simon was the most popular male name for Jews in

Roman Judea Judaea ( la, Iudaea ; grc, Ἰουδαία, translit=Ioudaíā ) was a Roman province which incorporated the regions of Judea, Samaria, and Idumea from 6 CE, extending over parts of the former regions of the Hasmonean and Herodian kingdoms o ...

. The Hebrew name is Hellenised as ''Symeon'' ( grc-gre, Συμεών) in the

Septuagint The Greek Old Testament, or Septuagint (, ; from the la, septuaginta, lit=seventy; often abbreviated ''70''; in Roman numerals, LXX), is the earliest extant Greek translation of books from the Hebrew Bible. It includes several books beyond t ...

, and in the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Christ ...

as both Symeon in

Strong's Concordance ''The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible'', generally known as ''Strong's Concordance'', is a Bible concordance, an index of every word in the King James Version (KJV), constructed under the direction of James Strong. Strong first published h ...

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 Andrew the Apostle ( grc-koi, Ἀνδρέᾱς, Andréās ; la, Andrēās ; , syc, ܐܰܢܕ݁ܪܶܐܘܳܣ, ʾAnd’reʾwās), also called Saint Andrew, was an apostle of Jesus according to the New Testament. He is the brother of Simon Pet ...

(Simon's brother) sometimes bore originally Greek names. ''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 King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and published in 1611, by sponsorship of K ...

, the name

Simeon Niger Simon Niger is a person in the Book of Acts in the New Testament. He is mentioned in Acts 13:1 as being one of the "prophets and teachers" in the church of Antioch The Church of Antioch ( ar, كنيسة أنطاكية, Romanization: kánīsa � ...

is spelt ''Simeon'' ( Acts 13:1) as is

Simeon (Gospel of Luke) Simeon ( el, Συμεών) at the Temple is the "just and devout" man of Jerusalem who, according to , met Mary, Joseph, and Jesus as they entered the Temple to fulfill the requirements of the Law of Moses on the 40th day from Jesus' birth, i ...

(), while

Peter Peter may refer to: People * List of people named Peter, a list of people and fictional characters with the given name * Peter (given name) ** Saint Peter (died 60s), apostle of Jesus, leader of the early Christian Church * Peter (surname), a su ...

is called ''Simon'' ().

In other languages

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Dark Ages (), the Archaic p ...

: Σίμων (Simon). This name appears in Greek mythology as one of the

Telchines In Greek mythology, the Telchines ( grc, Τελχῖνες, ''Telkhines'') were the original inhabitants of the island of Rhodes and were known in Crete and Cyprus. Family Their parents were either Pontus and Gaia or Tartarus and Nemesis or else ...

. In Greek means "flat-nosed".Walter Burkert, Greek Religion, Harvard University Press, 1985, p. 182.
/ref> Συμεών is the

Hellenization Hellenization (other British spelling Hellenisation) or Hellenism is the adoption of Greek culture, religion, language and identity by non-Greeks. In the ancient period, colonization often led to the Hellenization of indigenous peoples; in th ...

of the name found in the

and parts of the

, this form continues in use through the mediaeval era,

viz. The abbreviation ''viz.'' (or ''viz'' without a full stop) is short for the Latin , which itself is a contraction of the Latin phrase ''videre licet'', meaning "it is permitted to see". It is used as a synonym for "namely", "that is to say", "to ...

Symeon the New Theologian Symeon the New Theologian ( el, Συμεὼν ὁ Νέος Θεολόγος; 949–1022) was an Eastern Orthodox Christian monk and poet who was the last of three saints canonized by the Eastern Orthodox Church and given the title of "Theologia ...

''. *

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: ** Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the countr ...

: Simon,

Simeon Simeon () is a given name, from the Hebrew ( Biblical ''Šimʿon'', Tiberian ''Šimʿôn''), usually transliterated as Shimon. In Greek it is written Συμεών, hence the Latinized spelling Symeon. Meaning The name is derived from Simeon, s ...

* Amharic: ስምዖን, Smeon *

Arabic Arabic (, ' ; , ' or ) is a Semitic language spoken primarily across the Arab world.Semitic languages: an international handbook / edited by Stefan Weninger; in collaboration with Geoffrey Khan, Michael P. Streck, Janet C. E.Watson; Walte ...

: سِمْعَان (Simʻān), شَمْعُون (Šamʻūn) * Aramaic (old): Šimʻōn (

Shim'on Simeon () is a given name, from the Hebrew (Biblical ''Šimʿon'', Tiberian ''Šimʿôn''), usually transliterated as Shimon. In Greek it is written Συμεών, hence the Latinized spelling Symeon. Meaning The name is derived from Simeon, son ...

) * Aramaic (middle and modern): ܫܡܥܘܢ (Šëmʻūn, Shem'un), (Sëmʻān,

Semaan Semaan (Syriac Aramaic: ܫܡܥܘܢ ''Šemʿōn'' ; , ''Semʻān'') (also spelled Sem'an, Semán, Simaan, Sim'an, Samaan, Samman, Sam'an, Sima'an) is a Christian surname mainly found in the Levant area of the Middle East. It is derived from the Semit ...

) * Aragonese: Simón *

Azerbaijani Azerbaijani may refer to: * Something of, or related to Azerbaijan * Azerbaijanis * Azerbaijani language See also * Azerbaijan (disambiguation) * Azeri (disambiguation) * Azerbaijani cuisine * Culture of Azerbaijan The culture of Azerbaijan ...

: Şımon *

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous c ...

: Simon or, sometimes, Ximun *

Belarusian Belarusian may refer to: * Something of, or related to Belarus * Belarusians, people from Belarus, or of Belarusian descent * A citizen of Belarus, see Demographics of Belarus * Belarusian language * Belarusian culture * Belarusian cuisine * Byelor ...

: Сымон (Symon), Сямён (Sjamyon) *

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the ...

: সাইমন (Saimon), শিমন (Šimon), সিমন (Simon) * Breton : Simon *

Bulgarian Bulgarian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Bulgaria * Bulgarians, a South Slavic ethnic group * Bulgarian language, a Slavic language * Bulgarian alphabet * A citizen of Bulgaria, see Demographics of Bulgaria * Bul ...

: Симеон (

) *

Catalan Catalan may refer to: Catalonia From, or related to Catalonia: * Catalan language, a Romance language * Catalans, an ethnic group formed by the people from, or with origins in, Northern or southern Catalonia Places * 13178 Catalan, asteroid ...

: Simó * Chinese Simplified: 西蒙 (Xīméng), 西门 (Xīmén) * Chinese Traditional: 西蒙 (Xīméng), 西門 (Xīmén) *

Croatian Croatian may refer to: * Croatia *Croatian language *Croatian people *Croatians (demonym) See also * * * Croatan (disambiguation) * Croatia (disambiguation) * Croatoan (disambiguation) * Hrvatski (disambiguation) * Hrvatsko (disambiguation) * S ...

Šimun Šimun is a Croatian male given name, equivalent to Simon. It is also a family name in Croatia and Slovakia. Given name * Šimun Kožičić Benja (ca. 1460-1536), Croatian nobleman * Šimun Katalinić (1889-1977) Croatian rower * Šimun Milinović ...

Czech Czech may refer to: * Anything from or related to the Czech Republic, a country in Europe ** Czech language ** Czechs, the people of the area ** Czech culture ** Czech cuisine * One of three mythical brothers, Lech, Czech, and Rus' Places *Czech, ...

Šimon Šimon (Old Norse: ''Sigmundr'') was a Varangian (Viking) whose story is related in the Kievan ''Patericon'' and his story concerns the creation of the Kievan cave monastery, where he is reported to have been its most important donor. Story Šimon ...

Danish Danish may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to the country of Denmark People * A national or citizen of Denmark, also called a "Dane," see Demographics of Denmark * Culture of Denmark * Danish people or Danes, people with a Danish ance ...

: Simon *

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

: Simon,

, Siem *

English English usually refers to: * English language * English people English may also refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England ** English national id ...

: Simon *

Esperanto Esperanto ( or ) is the world's most widely spoken constructed international auxiliary language. Created by the Warsaw-based ophthalmologist L. L. Zamenhof in 1887, it was intended to be a universal second language for international communi ...

Simono The Simono were an indigenous people who lived in what is now part of the Mexican state of Nuevo Leon and the U.S. state of Texas from at least the 16th century in the 18th century. In the late 1580s or maybe slightly earlier the pressure of the ...

Estonian Estonian may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to Estonia, a country in the Baltic region in northern Europe * Estonians, people from Estonia, or of Estonian descent * Estonian language * Estonian cuisine * Estonian culture See also

...

: Siimon,