Menno Simons (1496 – 31 January 1561) was an Anabaptist religious leader from the Friesland region of the Low Countries. Simons was a contemporary of the Protestant Reformers and his followers became known as Mennonites. "Menno Simons" (/ˈmɛnoː ˈsimɔns/) is a Dutchification; his actual, Frisian name was Minne Simens (/ˈmɪnə ˈsimn̩s/), which is a patronym meaning "Minne, son of Simen".