Question

Where do the Simpsons originate from?

Comments

OK - this is NOT the correct answer, but someone has to give it...

- either, from Springfield, Middle America OR

- the mind of Matt Groening

ALRIGHT! Now that I've got that out of my system, I'm sure you meant where did the Simpson family name, original ancestor (probably to America) originate from?

I don't know, but I'm sure someone might have a clue or two. Based on the Simpson profiles we have in WikiTree, I would have to venture a guess that they came somewhere from either England or Scotland.

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You didn't lie, Scott. If you hadn't answered in that fashion, someone else would have had to do so.

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@Scott: If you make this an Answer and not a Comment, you get my upvote.

Came here to say this.

Answer 1

Origin of Simpson surname.

Last name: Simpson

Recorded in the spellings of Symson, Simson and Simpson, this is an Anglo-Scottish surname with two distinct possible origins. The first and most generally accepted being a patronymic form of the medieval male name 'Simme', claimed to be a variant of the Greek 'Simon'. This is probably correct, and as such would have been introduced into Britain by the 12th century Crusaders. However it is also possible that 'Simme' was a short form of the pre 7th century Olde English 'Sigmund'. Either way early recordings of the surname include Johannes Symmeson, in the Poll Tax rolls of Yorkshire in 1379, and John Simpson, in the Calverley charters of Yorkshire in 1397. The 'p' in the latter example is a dialectal intrusion, introduced to make for easier pronunciation. The surname is first recorded in Scotland in 1405, when William Symsoun appears in the Edinburgh Burgess rolls, whilst in 1482 Wylzame Symptsun, so much for spelling, was declared innocent of detaining King James 111 (of Scotland) in Edinburgh Castle! It is also claimed that Simpson may be of locational origin from two hamlets of the same name in Buckinghamshire and Devonshire. These places appeared as "Swinestone" in the Domesday Book of 1086, and have as their first element the Olde English pre 7th Century personal name "Sigewine", plus "tun", - a settlement. An interesting recording relates to Thomas Simpson, who embarked on the ship 'Paule of London', bound for Virginia in July 1635, and thus was one of the earliest colonists to the New World. The first recorded spelling of the family name is shown to be that of Richard Symmeson, which was dated 1353, who was a witness in the Assize Court of Staffordshire, during the reign of King Edward 111, known as 'The Father of the English Navy', 1327 - 1377. Throughout the centuries, surnames in every country have continued to "develop" often leading to astonishing variants of the original spelling.

© Copyright: Name Origin Research www.surnamedb.com 1980 - 2016

Read more: http://www.surnamedb.com/Surname/Simpson#ixzz48SVvTewX

 

Answer 2

Check out the maps of England and Scotland for the counties in each country that have the most people with the Simpson surname. Note the changes in Scotland counties from 1841 to 1901 due to the clearances.

http://www.ancestry.com/name-origin?surname=simpson

Answer 3

Hello!  I live in Kingston, Ontario, Canada and have been researching my family for many years.

My Simpson Family is from County Antrim, Northern Ireland.  They immigrated circa 1840s to Ontario.  Family lore states 4 brothers --- Samuel, James, Thomas and Robert --- came to Canada, and  2 brothers --- names unknown --- went to Louisiana, USA, and  possibly  2 more brothers stayed in Ireland.  They are the children of Adam Simpson and Rachael (Rachel) McBride.   I also believe the Simpsons originated in Scotland as part of the Fraser Clan;  and pit stopped in Ireland for  ~200 years on their way to North America.

I suspect there is at least one girl in this family as well, since no downlines I've found to date have only boys and no girls in them, except for my dad's 1st cousin, J.A. Gordon Simpson, who has only 4 boys (born in the 1950s and 1960s).

I'm descended from Samuel and James as my great grandparents are 1st cousins --- John (son of James and Mary Jane Nesbit Simpson) and Rachel (dau of Samuel and Jane O'Raw Simpson).  Samuel was a weaver by trade.

Family lore also states that Robert went on to Toronto, Ontario and started the Robert Simpson Stores, with  23 stores, now defunct, that were purchased by The Hudsons Bay Company. 

My 2nd cousin Stephen Simpson attended Mardi Gras within a group of twenty year olds about  1990 and met a Louisiana girl, last name Simpson, who was descended/related to the Robert of the Robert Simpson Stores in Toronto.

I believe there must be at least a thread of truth to this story!

Heather

Answer 4

As Frank said previously, Simpson is a patronymic, which means there is no one place or group of people that can claim to be the origin of Simpsons. Children of Simons in many places, which no relation to each other, adopted the name.

When I tested my YDNA, I found that of the other 100 Simpsons tested, I only 1 had any recent relation to me, a Simpson from Clackmannanshire, Scotland. Our common ancestor was probably about 8 to 10 generations back. The rest of the Simpsons had paternal bloodline that were several thousands of years removed from mine.

On the other hand, since surnames are relatively recent in Scotland and northern England, I matched men with the surnames Campbell, Marr, and Dodds, good Scottish lowland names.

If your paper trail doesn't say where your Simpsons come from, I recommend a YDNA test.

Answer 5

My Simpson Family came from Ballymena, County Antrim, Northern Ireland.  I can get back to   Thomas  b 1775   and  Adam  b  1790.   Adam Simpson married Rachael McBride  b  1793.  They have  8 known children:   their first four boys --- Thomas  b 1814,  James  b 1819,  Samuel  b 1822,  Robert  --- immigrated to Ontario, Canada;   their 2 girls --- Ann  b ~1829,  Jane  b ~1829  --- we believe stayed in Ireland;  and two boys, names unknown, went to Louisianna, USA.

Answer 6

My Simpson family so far consists of one man, named James Simpson.

https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Simpson-9258

James fathered a daughter in the Orkney islands (North of Scotland) in 1823. He was never married to the mother, and he was aged 19 in the 1821 census.

I have NO OTHER details about him

I dont know when he was born or died, where he was born or died, or who his parents were. He is a major brick wall.