# Simms (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/simms/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. Counts from the US Census Bureau; origin and etymology from Wiktionary; bearers from Wikidata. Data updated 2026-11-11.

A surname transferred from the given name.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Origin | not recorded |
| Type | patronymic, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name |
| People in the US (2010 Census) | 26,287 |
| US rank (2010) | 1,340 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 11,745 people |
| Change since 2000 | 0.0% (26,296 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /sɪmz/, 1 syllable |
| Variant spellings | Sims, Symes |

## Etymology

From Sim, the short form of Simon + -s.

## Who carries it

Share of people named Simms in the 2010 US Census by the Census's own race and ethnicity groups. The Census suppresses a share when the count behind it is small.

| Group | Share |
|---|---|
| White (not Hispanic) | 52% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 41% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.7% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.4% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.6% |
| Two or more races | 2.7% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Simms in the United States.

## People named Simms

- William Gilmore Simms, American writer (1806–1870)
- Ginny Simms, American singer and actress (1915–1994)
- Phil Simms, American football player and sportscaster (born 1955)
- Juliet Simms, American singer-songwriter
- Clyde Simms, American soccer player
- Hilda Simms, actress (1918-1994)
- Michael Simms, American boxer
- Travis Simms, American boxer and politician

## Similar surnames

Sims, Simões, Simas, Siems, Singh, Saenz, Song, Sams, Shank, Shanks, Schenk, Swank.

## How to read these numbers

A Census count is people alive and counted in 2010, not births, and names occurring fewer than 100 times are not published at all. Ethnicity shares are the Census's own categories.