Recorded as Simkin, Simpkin and the patronymics Simkins and Simpkins, this is an English surname. It derives from Sim, a nickname form of the personal name Simon, itself from a biblical and Hebrew word meaning "listening." To Sim was later added the diminutive "kin" meaning "little". It is a Crusader name, being one of the many that were introduced into the British Isles during the period of history known as the Christian revival. This was from the 11th century when the adoption of names of a biblical origin was linked with the return of knights and pilgrims from the Holy Land. The name is first recorded towards the end of the 12th century, and was originally chiefly found in the West Midlands of England. In the modern idiom, the intrusive "p" where it occurs is a dialectal addition, introduced to make for easier pronunciation. Church recordings include Jane Simpkin who married Richard Paulinge on April 28th 1611 at St. Dunstan's, Stepney, and Ann, the daughter of Thomas and Mary Simpkins, christened on January 27th 1680 at St. Olave's, Hart Street, city of London. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Anand Simekin. This was dated 1199 in the records of the County of Suffolk Institute of Archaeology, during the reign of King John, and known as "Lackland" 1199 - 1216. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was sometimes known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.