simon
/ˈsaɪmən/noun
simon is spelled S-I-M-O-N: 5 letters and 2 syllables. It appears 30 times per million words in written English, the 3,114th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, simon means “Sixpence coin” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of simon is simons.
How many letters and syllables are in simon?
| Letters | 5: S-I-M-O-N |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2 (from its American pronunciation) |
| In writing | 30 times per million words; the 3,114th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation and the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is simon?
Simon appears 30 times per million words in written English, the 3,114th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce simon?
- /ˈsaɪmən/
Simon has 2 syllables (counted from its American pronunciation in the CMU Pronouncing Dictionary).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-Simon.wav, En-au-simon.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of simon
- simons plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does simon mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
UKdatedslangSixpence coin.
- 2
USarchaicslangA US dollar.
noun
- 1
Alternative letter-case form of simon (“sixpence coin”).
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Where does simon come from?
Uncertain. One theory suggests derivation from a joke based on the bible verse Acts 9:43, rendered as “Peter lodged with Simon a tanner”, a pun on the meanings of lodge (“stay in a place; put away money”). Partridge suggests that this not possible given the dates, however, and suggests instead derivation from some unknown person’s name. Attested from the late 17th century, with synonymous tanner attested from the 18th. Compare also simony, from a different biblical figure, Simon Magnus. The “US dollar” sense derives from the earlier “sixpence”, perhaps influenced by the $ symbol.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).