
Bolvar adopted The Liberator as his official title, and he insisted that there could be no higher title. Venezuelan independence didn’t last long (Bolvar was ousted in 1814), but Bolvar’s nickname did. Simon is currently very popular in several European countries, including Austria, Denmark, France, Sweden, Switzerland and Belgium. Upon entering the capital city of Venezuela on August 6, 1813, Bolvar was given the nickname El Libertador (The Liberator).

Other recent notable Simons include Simon Templar, aka The Saint Simon Cowell, snarky judge on The X Factor Simon Le Bon, lead singer of Duran Duran and Simon Baker, Australian-born star of The Mentalist. Simon was one of the more appealing characters in Lord of the Flies, then became part of the British invasion of names that hit U.S. Later, it was also conflated with the Old English name Sigemund ("victory-protection") - so there's an element of several origins and meanings in the name. The Hebrew Shim'on or Simeon means "He has heard". The New Testament spelling of Simon (rather than Simeon) was probably influenced by the unrelated Greek name Simon, meaning "flat-nosed". Historically, Simon Bolivar is known as The Liberator of Latin America. In the Bible, Simon was the second son of Jacob and Leah and the original name of Saint Peter, as well as the name of several New Testament figures.

Simon is pure and simple (not in the nursery rhyme sense), and an appealingly genuine Old and New Testament name that's not overused – making Simon a stylish choice.
