Simon
Masculine · “he has heard”
Simon is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 70,283 boys against 161 girls since 1880.
Simon has been spoken in more or less its present shape for two thousand years, and it has never needed explaining twice. It came into Greek from Hebrew, settled into Latin, and then spread through nearly every language of Europe with barely a letter changed. Two syllables, spelled exactly as it sounds, and shortened the same way now as it was centuries ago.
How old is the name Simon?
Simon was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Simon alive today was born around 2001, making them about 24 years old. About 57,000 people named Simon are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Simon most popular?
Simon peaked in 1886, reaching #139 nationally. Today it ranks #230, 91 places below that high. See the whole 1886 chart.
Where it comes from
From Shim'on to Simon
The story of Simon
The name begins as the Hebrew Shim'on, which the Greek translators of the Hebrew Bible rendered as Symeon. In the Greek of the New Testament it appears in the trimmer form Simon, and because it belonged to several prominent figures there, it traveled wherever those texts traveled. Latin took it unchanged, and from Latin it entered English, French, Spanish, German, Hungarian and beyond, picking up local endings — Simone in Italy, Simón in Spain, Semyon in Russia — while the English spelling stayed put. It has been in continuous English use since the medieval period, which is why it reads as neither old-fashioned nor new.
Meaning
he has heard, or listening
The Hebrew source is Shim'on, from a root meaning to hear or listen. Worth knowing: an unrelated Greek name Simon already existed, from a word meaning snub-nosed, and the two collided in the Greek-speaking world. The Hebrew line is the one that carried the name onward.
Cultural footprint
Simon Cowell (b. 1959) — American Idol's famously blunt judge
Simon Pegg (b. 1970) — Shaun of the Dead star
Simon Wiesenthal (b. 1908) — Holocaust survivor who spent his life bringing war criminals to justice
Source: Wikidata — the one source on this page that is not an official agency.
How the name formed
- Shim'on
- Symeon
- SimonGreek
- SimonLatin
- Simon
Related forms: Shimon · Simón · Simone · Simon · Semyon · Simon
Pronouncing Simon
SY-mun
Stress on the first syllable in English. French speakers say it roughly see-MOHN, and the Italian Simone is three syllables, see-MOH-nay — a masculine name there, unlike the French feminine Simone.
Nicknames for Simon
High
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 20131,616 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #139reached in 1886
- Change vs 2022
- +4.9%1,529 in 2025, from 1,457
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Simon in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Shimon in Hebrew — transliteration
- Simón in Spanish — same name
- Simone in Italian — related form
- Simon in French — same name
- Semyon in Russian — related form
- Simon in Hungarian — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, New York, Texas. INSEE rounds every published count to the nearest five for statistical confidentiality; the ranks are calculated from the exact figures. International figures from INSEE. Sources
Simons among us
people named Simon are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 1,117 born in 2025 was named Simon
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Simon peaked long ago yet still holds steady — names that survive their own wave usually settle into quiet, durable classics.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Where Simon is headed
Simon should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
High confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.
A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.
Simon beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Simon in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Spelled the way it sounds and already familiar to English speakers, so it rarely needs repeating or correcting.
- Works nearly unchanged in French, German, Spanish, Hungarian and Hebrew, which makes it easy to carry across languages and families.
- Two syllables with clear consonants — short enough not to need a nickname, with Si and Sim available if one is wanted.
- A continuous record of use going back through the medieval period, so it belongs to no single decade of fashion.
- Simon says is a playground game and Simple Simon an old English nursery rhyme, so the name comes with a couple of ready-made jokes. They tend to surface in early primary school and fade quickly.
- The Italian and French relatives cause occasional mix-ups: Simone reads as feminine to most American ears, and forms sent from abroad sometimes arrive spelled that way.
- Some readers will think first of one very well-known television judge, which colors the name for adults more than for children.
- It stays steadily in use without crowding, so a Simon is likely to be the only one in his class — pleasant for him, though it means the name never quite feels commonplace to strangers.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Simon to the vote.
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What they receive
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Simon
Masculine · #230 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Simons are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 57,000 people named Simon are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Simon in 2025?
- Simon ranks #230 among US boy names in 2025, with 1,529 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Simon?
- About 1 in every 1,117 US boys born in 2025 was named Simon — 1,529 in all.
- Will my child share the name Simon with classmates?
- Simon will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Simon
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Brayden#229 · Abel#231 · Grant#228 · Alex#232 · Justin#233 · Callahan#227 · Kairo#226 · Richard#234
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Simon? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Simon and another name?
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Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration; international figures from national statistics agencies. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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