As we have seen, some medieval first names were prone to give rise to a large variety of variants. Sometimes, this occurred through the addition of suffixes, such as -kin or -cock. Often, an <s> would make its appearance at the end of the name. At other times it resulted from the varied spellings adopted by clergymen and administrators compiling official records.
However, Simon must be in line for the prize for the largest number of spelling variants. It was a common first name found across medieval Cornwall. Simon came originally from Greek and was the name of not just one but two of Christ’s apostles while absorbing the Scandinavian name Sigmund along the way. There were unlikely to have been many Sigmunds lurking about in Cornwall, but by the 16th century there were at least six main spellings of Simon and names derived from it, the numbers of which fluctuated unpredictably.
Things began simply enough. In the early 1500s virtually all men with a surname from the name Simon were known as Symon. Over the following two centuries Symon received its <s> but this process was accompanied by a fractured spelling. The majority (60 per cent by the 1860s) became Symons. But some acquired a <d> to be Symonds, sometimes spelt Simmonds. And then there was Semmens. This appeared in the late 1600s and was the most favoured form of the name in West Penwith. There, by the 1950s, it just outnumbered the Symons which were dominant elsewhere in Cornwall.
Cornish studies resources 
I love reading these.Thank you.I know you are currently doing a ‘countdown’, but if you ever get the chance to unearth Vague/Trevague, I’d love to hear!.Carhartt also fascinates me…add a ‘t’ and build a brand for both (US) Maga and Antifa to share.Down Under, we’ve plenty of the Cornish names, now 100% vacated from Cornwall, And also a lovely pasta Sauce made by the Leggos, marketed
LikeLike
Thanks Martin. Carhart and Vague are in the book but not Trevague. A quick search reveals just one Trevague – in 1789. The surname would appear to come from a lost placename in Constantine parish, although there’s another Trevague at Altarnun in east Cornwall. Pasta sauce made by a company with a Cornish name? Whatever next, pasties by Italians?
LikeLike
this is fantastic! I’m a Tregidgo and I am keen to find its origin. The nearest I’ve found it Tregidgeo farm in Grampound.
LikeLike
You’ve found it, then. A pity all surnames aren’t that easy.
LikeLike
A very insightful read. I come from a long line of Simmonds’ that lived in and around North Bristol for around 300 years before moving to Minchinhampton in Gloucestershire. They were hatters, feltmakers, miners, builders, and are now nucear physicists and chemists (a mighty jump). We are able to track the family back to the 1600s and have seen an array of different spellings. I can only assume clergymen continually spelt the name differently – much like receptionists do nowadays (I often find myself having to stress the double ‘m’ and ‘d’). I have always wondered if they migrated up the West Coast from Cornwall. This is what my grandfather thinks. Members of our family have been called ‘Simonds’, ‘Simons’, ‘Simmond’, and ‘Simmonds’ – which is what the family settled on. The furthest back we cab go is to a Robert Simmonds who married Cecelia Vinegard (this surname seems very rare) in the 1600s. I was wondering if you could provide some Cornish expertise. What do you think the likelihood is that they originated in Cornwall? Or even Devon, as a fellow ‘Samuel Simmonds’ – the rugby player – hails from Exeter.
LikeLike
Anything is possible, Samuel. The problem is that the variant Simmonds isn’t particularly associated with Cornwall although, as you’ve found out, the preferred spelling could well change over the years. The most common version of names from Simon in Cornwall came to be Symons with the dialect variant Semmens the uniquely (west) Cornish form.
LikeLike