French, Spanish (Simeón), and English: from the personal name Simeon, a variant of Simon. This was chosen in honor of any of many saints so named, venerated especially in the Eastern Church, including Simeon Theodochos, who recognized the infant Christ as the Messiah during the presentation in the temple, and St. Simeon Stylites, an ascetic 5th-century Syrian monk who lived for 40 years on top of a pillar. It is also found as a Greek surname, a reduced form of patronymics such as Simeonides, Simeonakis, or Simeonoglou.