Le Mesnil-Simon is a rural commune in the Calvados department whose name was first attested as Mesnil Simoni in the 12th century. The toponym Mesnil, frequent in Normandy and specifically in the Norman Bocage, designates in Old French a rural estate. The various Mesnil are generally differentiated by an anthroponym that most often associates them with the lord of the place. The land use of the municipality remains marked by the importance of agricultural land (81.6 % in 2018) and, in particular, meadows (67.1 %).