Named in honor of Damon P. Simonelli (b. 1959), planetary scientist at Cornell University and an expert in the study of minor-planetlike bodies using spacecraft photometry. Simonelli was developer of the standard photometric model of Phobos, and a major contributor to the analysis of ground-based and Galileo observations of (951) Gaspra and (243) Ida. Name suggested by B. E. Clark and citation provided by J. Veverka.