Simeon

See also: Simon

Simeon, or Shimon is a given name, from the Hebrew שמעון (Biblical Šimʿon, Tiberian Šimʿôn). In Greek, it is written Συμεών, hence the Latinized spelling Symeon.

Meaning

The name is derived from Simeon, son of Jacob and Leah, patriarch of the Tribe of Simeon. The text of Genesis (29:33) argues that the name of Simeon refers to Leah's belief that God had heard that she was hated by Jacob, in the sense of not being as favoured as Rachel.

כִּי־שָׁמַע יְהוָה כִּי־שְׂנוּאָה אָנֹכִי וַיִּתֶּן־לִי גַּם־אֶת־זֶה וַתִּקְרָא שְׁמֹו שִׁמְעֹון׃

"Because the LORD had heard that I was hated, he had therefore given me this son also: and she called his name Simeon."

implying a derivation from the Hebrew term shama on, meaning "he has heard"; this is a similar etymology as the Torah gives for the theophoric name Ishmael ("God has heard"; Genesis 16:11), on the basis of which it has been argued that the tribe of Simeon may originally have been an Ishmaelite group (Cheyne and Black, Encyclopedia Biblica). In classical rabbinical sources, the name is sometimes interpreted as meaning "he who listens [to the words of God]" (Genesis Rabbah 61:4), and at other times thought to derive from sham 'in, meaning "there is sin", which is argued to be a prophetic reference to Zimri's sexual miscegenation with a Midianite woman, a type of relationship which rabbinical sources regard as sinful (Jewish Encyclopedia).

People called Simeon

Before Christ

• Simeon (Hebrew Bible), one of Jacob's sons
• Tribe of Simeon, one of the twelve tribes of Israel
• Simeon I (ca 300 BC), Jewish High Priest, possibly identical with Simeon the Just
• Simon II (219–199 BC), Jewish High Priest, possibly identical with Simeon the Just
• Simeon the Just (3rd century BC?) a Jewish High Priest, also called "Simeon the Righteous" (not the same as the New Testament figure, below)

Through 700 AD

• Simeon the Righteous, figure in the New Testament who blessed Jesus and his parents in the Jerusalem temple
• Simeon/Symeon of Jerusalem, 2nd Bishop of Jerusalem, perhaps one of the Seventy Apostles sent out by Jesus
• Shimon ben Gamliel, Nasi of the Sanhedrin in 50 AD
• Shimon ben Gamliel II, Nasi of the Sanhedrin in c. 118 AD
• Shimon bar Yohai, a rabbi of the Tannaim period, possibly the author of the Zohar
• Simeon Stylites (ca 388–459 AD), a Christian pillar-hermit from Sisan, Syria
• Simeon Stylites the Younger (521–597 AD), a hermit and pillar-hermit from Antioch
• Simeon Stylites III, a 5th century (?) pillar-hermit
• Simeon was the name of one priest and one deacon martyred with Abda and Abdjesus
• Simeon the Holy Fool, Christian saint and hermit of the 6th century

From 701 AD to 1800 AD

• Simeon I of Bulgaria (866–927 AD), a Bulgarian tsar
• Symeon Metaphrastes (10th century?) was the most renowned of the Byzantine hagiographers
• Symeon the New Theologian: (949–1022 AD) Eastern Orthodox saint
• Simeon (abbot) (994–1094 AD), Abbot of Ely Cathedral
• Simeon Seth (fl. 1070 AD), Jewish Byzantine physician, writer, and grand chamberlain from Antioch
• Saint Simeon, born Stefan Nemanja (1109–1199 AD), Serbian ruler and saint of the Serb Orthodox Church
• Symeon of Durham (d. after 1129 AD), English chronicler and a monk of Durham Priory.
• Simeon the Proud, a 14th century Grand Prince of Moscow
• Simon of Trent, a 15th century boy supposedly killed by Jews, and formerly a martyr of the Catholic Church
• Simeon Uroš, a 14th century ruler of Epirus and Thessaly

Since 1800 AD

• Simeon II of Bulgaria, the last Bulgarian tsar before the Communist government, also prime minister from 2001–2005.
• Simeon Coxe (usually known only as Simeon), musician with the group Silver Apples.
• Simeon S. Willis, a U.S. lawyer, judge and politician; he was governor of Kentucky from 1943–1947.
• Simeon Dorsey, creator and developer of Jetman, a popular Facebook application with over a quarter-million users.
• Simeon Chesterfield-Bell: Born on the 18th of August 1992 up in Derby Western Australia. Now living in Melbourne Victoria racing Go-Karts in the Royal Victorian Karting Club, 3 times Victorian Champion and twice runner up.
• Simeon Rice, defensive end in the National Football League.
• Simeon Varlamov, goaltender for the Washington Capitals of the National Hockey League.

See also

• Simon
• Simone

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