This name, with variant spellings Sims, Simes, Sym(m)s and Symes, derives from the medieval given name "Sim(me)", a short form of the Greek personal name Simon, substituted for the Hebrew "Shimeon", meaning "he who hears". In English versions of the Old Testament the name appears both as Shimeon and Simeon, but in the New Testament it generally takes the form Simon. The first recording of Simon in England is in the 1134 Records of St. Benet of Holme, Norfolk. One Ralph Simme appears in the 1317 Assize Court Rolls of Kent, and a John Symme appears in the 1345 Court Rolls of the Borough of Colchester.
The patronymic form of the name is first recorded in Yorkshire (see below); the final "s" indicates the genitive and is a reduced form of "son of". In 1593, one Ellen Simms, of Warrington, appeared in the Cheshire Wills Records, and in 1594, Christopher Sims, of Berkshire, was entered in the Oxford University Register. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Robert Symmes, which was dated 1379, in the "Poll Tax Returns Records of Yorkshire", during the reign of King Richard 11, known as "Richard of Bordeaux", 1377 - 1399. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.
The origin, the coat of arms or the different heraldic shields, and the bibliography in which the surname syms is mentioned are part of this exciting investigation. We can try to trace the genealogy of the surname syms, and in addition to the original locations of syms, we can find out where people with the surname syms can currently be found.
The list of countries with a higher presence of people with the surname syms provides us with a perspective on the history of the surname, beyond its origins, focusing on its migrations. The mobility of people carrying the surname syms has led to its presence in different countries, as you can verify.
For those like you, who are interested in the history hidden behind the surname syms, it is essential to find all kinds of information, both direct and tangential, that helps to construct a solid narrative of how the birth and expansion of syms developed. The history, heraldry, coats of arms, and possible nobility of the surname syms are scattered in documents across various regions and historical periods, so it is necessary to reconstruct a complex puzzle to approach the facts from a realistic perspective.
We keep our website updated through our own research and also thanks to contributions from people like you, after verification; so if you have information about syms and send it to us, we will update it on this website. Please note that if you are in a position to provide more data about the surname syms or any other surname and its origin, we would appreciate your collaboration with us by sending us information about the origin of syms.
Sadly, not all the contributions of those who bore the surname syms were recorded by the chroniclers of the time. A surname like syms can connect a person to an illustrious lineage and a distinguished coat of arms. However, it must be kept in mind that it is individual people who, through their lives and actions, bring fame and recognition to their surnames. It is our desire to highlight in this section those individuals with the surname syms who, for various reasons, have left their mark on the course of history.
The origin, history, coat of arms or different coats of arms, and the heraldry of syms are recorded in a wide variety of sources and documents that are essential to know for better compilation. We consider it highly advisable to refer to the following sources if you wish to conduct research on the surname syms, as well as many other surnames.
These sources are essential for initiating the understanding of syms, and at the same time, of surnames in general.