English
The surname Simmer is of English origin. The surname signifies 'Summer's son'. It was a nickname or byname for someone of a warm or sunny disposition. This season-name has been used in personal nomenclature from a very early period. Several centuries earlier popular names for children were descriptive of the natural season in which the child was born, or even the state of the weather. It is variously derived from the Middle English, 'sum(m)er', the Old English 'somer'. It is, one might say, a rather cheerful name. The name may also be a assimilated variation of Sumner; an occupational name for an official who was responsible for ensuring the appearance of witnesses in court. It can also be an assimilated variation of Sumpter; an occupational name for a carrier, a driver of a pack animal, applied to the rider and horse. The Irish have also adopted the name as a translation of the Gaelic O'Samhraidh, 'descendant of Samhradh', a byname meaning Summer. The name dates as far back as the early twelfth century were a Geoffrey Sumer is recorded in historical archives. This name was brought to America predominately by English immigrants. One of the first fore fathers to bring this name to America is that of a John Summers, a blacksmith, who emigrated to America aboard the barque Peggy; he settled in Maryland. This name is the three-hundredth and seventy-ninth most common surname in America.