This typically East Anglican surname is derived from the Hebrew personal name "Shim' on", which is probably connected with the verb "sham'a" "to hearken". Coming from this the personal name Simon is found in the New Testament and was to give rise to numerous variants in all the countries of Europe. In England variants were sometimes confused with the Anglo-Scandinavian "Sigmund" and its cognate Norman form "Simund". The surname Simund had already clearly emerged by the early 13th Century (see below). One Margery Simondes is noted in early Essex records for 1308. As the surname developed it was to include numerous variants, such as Symonds, Symons, and Simmons. The marriage of Thomas Symons and Agneta Wever was recorded at St. Bartholomew the Less, London, on November 23rd 1567. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Robert Simund, which was dated 1222, in the "Curia Regis Rolls of Wiltshire", during the reign of King Henry 111, known as "The Frenchman", 1216 - 1272. Surnames became necessary when governments introduced personal taxation. In England this was known as Poll Tax. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.