Simeon
Name Origin & Meaning
From 'shama' (to hear, to listen, to obey). Leah declared: 'the LORD has heard that I am hated.' The New Testament Simeon who held the infant Jesus demonstrates the name's fullest meaning: one who truly hears the voice of the Holy Spirit and recognizes the salvation of God in what the world considers ordinary.
First Biblical Appearance
“And she conceived again, and bare a son; and said, Because the LORD hath heard that I was hated, he hath therefore given me this son also: and she called his name Simeon.”
Leah names her second son as testimony that God heard her affliction.
Biblical Significance
Simeon was the second son of Jacob and Leah. With Levi he destroyed the men of Shechem in revenge for Dinah. Jacob's blessing scattered the tribe. The aged Simeon who held the infant Jesus in the Temple — declaring the Nunc Dimittis — gave the name its most luminous New Testament expression.
Notable Bearers
- Simeon son of Jacob
- Simeon who held the infant Jesus (Luke 2:25)
Personality & Character
Creative completeness and the Trinity — the number of divine fullness in threefold expression
Spiritual symbolism drawn from Scripture and tradition
Modern Variants
A Blessing for This Name
May you have ears tuned to heaven's frequency, like Simeon who heard the Spirit's voice in the cry of an infant. May you be willing to wait your entire life for one encounter with the salvation of God.