Fitzsimons - Irish Surname Origin & Meaning
Irish form: Mac Síomóin
Meaning: Norman - “son of Simon”
Traditional stronghold: Cavan, Down
Pronunciation: fitz-SIM-ons; from Norman-French fitz Simon: 'son of Simon'
History of the Fitzsimons name
Fitzsimons is an Anglo-Norman patronymic, fitz Simon, 'son of Simon', borne by families who came to Ireland in the thirteenth century. One branch settled in the Pale, in Dublin and Meath, where Fitzsimons were prominent merchants and civic officials of medieval Dublin; another established itself in Westmeath and Cavan, becoming so Gaelicised that some rendered the name Mac Síomóin. A separate settlement took root in County Down. The many spellings, Fitzsimons, Fitzsimmons and FitzSimon, are interchangeable. Dublin's most famous screen star, Maureen O'Hara, was born a FitzSimons of Ranelagh.
Variants: Fitzsimmons · FitzSimon · Fitzsimon · Mac Síomóin
Famous bearers of the name
- Maureen O'Hara - Born Maureen FitzSimons in Dublin before Hollywood renamed her.
- Frank Fitzsimmons - Irish-American president of the Teamsters union after Jimmy Hoffa.
- Eoghan Fitzsimons - Attorney General of Ireland in 1994.
Related names from the same part of Ireland: Murray · Brady · O'Reilly · McGowan · Smith · Clarke · Rooney · McCabe