Meaning & origin
How it developed
In English usage, Sims is a short form of Simon.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1900. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Sims through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 317
- 312 boys · 5 girls
- Most popular year
- 1919
- 18 babies
- 2025
- 6
- #11,794 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- —
- Too few births to compare
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 6 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 11,794 among boys’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Its largest published annual count for boys was 18 in 1919. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 355 as a first name in 2020; 109,854 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Sims’s family of names
In English usage, Sims is a short form of Simon. In English usage, Sims has a related form in SYMES. In English usage, Sims as a surname has a related form in Simms.
Inner ring: spellings · outer: nicknames and forms.
Nicknames & forms 3
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Similar names
If you love Sims, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Cephas
“as solid as a rock”
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Sumner
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“a woodland dweller”
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Nels
“of the victorious people”
>99% boys
Yates
“keeper of the gates”
>99% boys