FitzSimmons
A Norman-style patronymic meaning “son of Simon,” with the Fitz- prefix showing descent.
The #3,826 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 33,342 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Fitz- is the Anglo-Norman prefix for “son of,” from Old French fils. The second element is the personal name Simon, so the surname originally meant “son of Simon.” In medieval records, such names were often hereditary surnames rather than literal descriptions of parentage.
History
The Fitz- surnames entered Britain with the Norman French naming system and are especially associated with Anglo-Norman families in medieval England and Ireland. In Irish records, some Fitz- families later adopted Gaelic-style surnames, but Fitzsimmons remained in use as a surname in its own right. The name is still most familiar in English-speaking countries today, especially where Norman-Irish surnames were preserved.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Many Fitz- surnames that look aristocratic began simply as “son of” patronymics in medieval French-influenced records.
From the historical record
“the time of Henry the Second, names commencing with Fitz frequently occur, as Fitzhugh, Fitzgerald, Fitzgibbon, Fitzsimmons, Fitzpatrick, which are of Anglo-Norman origin. Oamden informs us that in the reign of Henry the First, the daughter and heir of Fitzhamon, an English nobleman of wealth, refused the hand of…”
— An Etymological Dictionary of Family and Christian Names