Menno Simons

Menno Simons (1496 – 31 January 1561) was a former Catholic priest from the Friesland region of the Low Countries who became an influential Anabaptist religious leader. Simons was a contemporary of the Protestant Reformers and it is from his name that his followers became known as Mennonites. "Menno Simons" (/ˈmɛnoː ˈsimɔns/) is the Dutch version of his name; the Frisian version is Minne Simens (/ˈmɪnə ˈsimn̩s/), the possessive "s" creating a patronym meaning "Minne, son of Simen" (cf. English family names like Williams and Rogers).