Semyon

Semyon is Simon run through a Russian ear, the Hebrew Shimon, "he has heard," softened by that final ohn. Two syllables with a hush in the middle, the name belonged to Marshal Semyon Budyonny, the mustachioed cavalry commander, and to countless Semyon Semyonoviches in Soviet comedies. The diminutive Syoma turns the weight to warmth in an instant. It feels lived-in, the kind of name worn by men who fix things without complaint. Unusual on English birth certificates, steady throughout Russia, Semyon offers the biblical root with a distinctly Slavic finish, and an earthiness hard to manufacture.