MEANING & HISTORY
What does Simeon mean?
Simeon comes through Greek and Latin from Hebrew Shim‘on, associated with hearing or listening. The biblical naming story connects it with being heard by God.
Simon is a closely related transmitted form, although Greek also had an independent similar-sounding name. Simeon’s meaning comes from the Hebrew personal-name tradition rather than from the modern English word simian, which only resembles it.
References for this explanation
Pronunciation & syllables
Dictionary readings are kept by language. Select the reading that matches your intended pronunciation. Dots show the source’s written divisions; they are not a universal syllable count across languages.
Wiktionary contributors / Kaikki / Wiktextract · CC BY-SA 4.0
Origin and name formation
Language-specific accounts from the dictionary. A shared spelling can have more than one history.
CebuanoEtymology & source
From English Simeon, from Old Testament Hebrew שִׁמְעוֹן (“hearkening, listening”). Also from Spanish Simeon.
a male given name from English or Spanish
Wiktionary: Simeon (Cebuano) ↗ · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
EnglishEtymology & source
From Middle English Simeon, from Latin Simeon, from Ancient Greek Σῠμεών (Sŭmeṓn), from Biblical Hebrew שִׁמְעוֹן (šimʿôn, “hearkening, listening”), originally referring to Simeon, a son of Jacob. Doublet of Simon.
A male given name from Hebrew.
Wiktionary: Simeon (English) ↗ · Contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0
Adapted from Wiktionary contributors via Kaikki/Wiktextract. Source accounts remain in their original English; editorial summaries and filters are adapted. Attribution and downloads
People with the name Simeon
Public figures and other documented namesakes linked by an explicit given-name claim. This is a selection of records, not a popularity ranking.
DOCUMENTED NAMESAKE
Simeon Dumdum, Jr.
Filipino writer and judge
DOCUMENTED NAMESAKE
Simeon V. Marcelo
Filipino lawyer
The record establishes the name association, not the person’s intended meaning, pronunciation or ancestry. Descriptions are attributed to Wikidata contributors (CC0).
Use in Philippine-linked records
Public-record transcription
12
eligible source records · 2001
This spelling is reported in an openly licensed transcription of elected-candidate records. This is a record count, not a birth count or national popularity measure.
OpenHalalan / COMELEC ↗Wikidata
4
distinct person records with an explicit given-name claim
Community-edited coverage, not a census or birth registry. Examples: Simeon Dumdum, Jr., Simeon V. Marcelo
PSA · OFFICIAL BIRTH RECORDS
Simeon in the birth records
Exact spelling and stated year in the published name tables. Read the counts as individual snapshots.
Tables included: 2016, 2017, 2018, 2020, 2022, 2023 and 2024. The 2016 fact sheet lists five names per sex; the later tables include ten. Missing counts are not inferred. Sex categories follow the official tables, independently of dictionary gender labels. Explore the official tables →
Similar names to Simeon
Names with a similar opening or ending, ordered by spelling distance. Similar spelling does not imply the same meaning or origin.
Names in this collection
- Simeón♂Hearing or listening; Spanish form of Simeon
- Simen♂Hearing or listening, through Simon
- Simeona♀Feminine Simeon; a hearing-related Hebrew family
- Simon♂Biblical name related to Simeon; “he has heard”
- Simone♂♀French feminine Simon-name form; hearing
- Gedeon♂Greek and Latin biblical form of Gideon
- Leon♂Lion
- León♂Lion
What rhymes with Simeon?
No dictionary-confirmed rhyme match is available for this spelling in the current catalogue.
Names with a similar written ending
Spelling suggestions; these are not verified phonetic rhymes.
Recorded combinations with Simeon
2 source-reported compound forms include this name as a component. Each part keeps its own history.
Names in this collection
- Benigno Simeon·Benigno: Latin Benignus family, kind or friendly; Simeon: Greek biblical form of Hebrew Shimon
- Dionisio Simeon·Dionysius-family Dionisio with biblical Simeon
Explore Simeon further
Follow the sources
- OpenHalalan — pinned 2001 COMELEC transcription (opens in a new tab)
Source-reported given-name form in a row with a separate explicit middle initial; ODbL-1.0.
- COMELEC — 2001 List of Elected Candidates (opens in a new tab)
Original document identified by the transcription; selected PDF entries were spot-checked, not every imported row.
- COMELEC — 2001 List of Elected Candidates (opens in a new tab)
Original document identified by the transcription; selected PDF entries were spot-checked, not every imported row.
- Wikidata given-name item Q1557 — Simeon (opens in a new tab)
Given-name identity, native labels, language associations and explicit class where present; not lexical meaning or population frequency.
- Wikidata — Simeon Dumdum, Jr. (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name claim P735 linking to Q1557 and citizenship claim P27 linking to Philippines Q928; community-edited evidence, not a civil-registry record.
- Wikidata — Simeon V. Marcelo (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name claim P735 linking to Q1557 and citizenship claim P27 linking to Philippines Q928; community-edited evidence, not a civil-registry record.
- Wiktionary contributors — Simeon (Cebuano) (opens in a new tab)
Explicit given-name sense and separately attributed etymology; no birth-frequency claim.
- Wiktionary contributors — Simeon (English) (opens in a new tab)
Language-specific given-name etymology; shared spelling does not prove every bearer has this origin.
- Wiktionary: Simeon (opens in a new tab)
Personal-name formation and etymological relationships; imported dictionary account consulted.