# Sims (surname)

Source: https://namelineage.com/surname/sims/  
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) | 113,374 |
| US rank (2010) | 270 of 162,253 |
| How often | about 1 in every 2,723 people |
| Change since 2000 | +5.7% (107,244 in 2000) |
| Pronunciation | /sɪmz/, 1 syllable |
| Variant spellings | Simms, Symes |

## Etymology

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

## Who carries it

Share of people named Sims 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) | 54% |
| Black (not Hispanic) | 40% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 2.2% |
| Asian and Pacific Islander | 0.4% |
| American Indian and Alaska Native | 0.6% |
| Two or more races | 2.6% |

## Where

Wikidata records people named Sims in the United States.

## People named Sims

- Christopher A. Sims, American econometrician and macroeconomist (1942-2026)
- Molly Sims, American actress
- Zoot Sims, American jazz saxophonist
- J. Marion Sims, American physician and gynecologist (1813-1883)
- Bella Sims, American swimmer
- Brian Sims, American politician
- Jocko Sims, American actor
- Odyssey Sims, American basketball player (born 1992)
- Jericho Sims, American basketball player (born 1998)
- Henry Sims, American basketball player (born 1990)
- Naomi Sims, American model and writer (1948–2009)
- Charles Sims, American mathematician (1937–2017)

and 5 more on Wikidata.

## Similar surnames

Simms, Sams, Simões, Simas, Siems, Sines, Simko, Simek, Sinks, Singh, Saenz, Song.

## 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.