SIMMONS Origin of surname
SIMMONS
Surnames derive from one of many different origins. Sometimes there may be more than one explanation for the same name. This family name is a patronymic, derived from a male ancestor's personal name, in this case of biblical origin.
Simmons, in which the suffix "-s" means "son of", is an equivalent of the Hebrew Ben Shimon, meaning "Simon's son". It is a form of the Hebrew biblical male personal name Shimon/Simon, who was the second son of Jacob and Leah. The traditional name etymology of Shimon is that derives from the Hebrew root Shema which means "hear" (Genesis 29.33).
Jews used patronyms as a means of personal identification long before their use in the formation of family names. Jewish patronymics are based on Hebrew and biblical names. Sephardi and oriental Jews borrowed extensively from their Arab neighbors, while Ashkenazi Jews often translated Hebrew names into Yiddish and the vernacular (the language of the ethnic majority among whom they lived in the Diaspora), or used vernacular suffixes.
Surnames derive from one of many different origins. Sometimes there may be more than one explanation for the same name. This family name is a patronymic, derived from a male ancestor's personal name, in this case of biblical origin.
Simmons, in which the suffix "-s" means "son of", is an equivalent of the Hebrew Ben Shimon, meaning "Simon's son". It is a form of the Hebrew biblical male personal name Shimon/Simon, who was the second son of Jacob and Leah. The traditional name etymology of Shimon is that derives from the Hebrew root Shema which means "hear" (Genesis 29.33).
Jews used patronyms as a means of personal identification long before their use in the formation of family names. Jewish patronymics are based on Hebrew and biblical names. Sephardi and oriental Jews borrowed extensively from their Arab neighbors, while Ashkenazi Jews often translated Hebrew names into Yiddish and the vernacular (the language of the ethnic majority among whom they lived in the Diaspora), or used vernacular suffixes.