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The surname Sims

A patronymic surname, carried by 113,374 people in the United States.

Pronounced /sɪmz/ 1 syllable Soundex S520

Sims: #270 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott#10Martinez#100Jimenez#1,000Archer#10,001Dubon Sims #270, 113,374 people Sims: #270 of 162,253 surnames in the 2010 US Census #1Smith#160,975Doriott Sims #270, 113,374 people
Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Sims is more common than 99.8% of them.

Origin

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

Sims is a patronymic surname: formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 113,374 people named Sims in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 2,723 Americans. That is up 5.7% since 2000, when the Census counted 107,244.

#270
rank among US surnames
113,374
people in 2010
38
per 100,000 Americans
+5.7%
change since 2000 (was #254)
RankSurnamePeople1 in
#261Vega116,6732,646
#262Bishop116,6182,647
#263Montgomery115,9532,663
#264Oliver115,9002,664
#265Jensen115,6792,669
#266Harvey115,6622,669
#267Williamson114,9592,686

Who is named Sims

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

54% of people named Sims identified as white (not Hispanic), 40% as Black (not Hispanic) and 2.6% as two or more races.

  • White (not Hispanic) 54%
  • Black (not Hispanic) 40%
  • Two or more races 2.6%
  • Hispanic or Latino (any race) 2.2%
  • American Indian and Alaska Native 0.6%
  • Asian and Pacific Islander 0.4%

Compare: most common surnames among white Americans.

Famous Simss

17 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

  • Christopher A. Sims
    American econometrician and macroeconomist (1942-2026)
  • Molly Sims
    American actress, born 1973
  • Zoot Sims
    American jazz saxophonist, 1925–1985
  • J. Marion Sims
    American physician and gynecologist (1813-1883)
  • Bella Sims
    American swimmer, born 2005
  • Brian Sims
    American politician, born 1978
  • Jocko Sims
    American actor, born 1981
  • 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)

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Variant spellings

Surnames that sound like Sims

Sims has the Soundex code S520, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code S520.

Questions

Where does the surname Sims come from?
From Sim, the short form of Simon + -s.
How common is the surname Sims?
113,374 people in the United States had the surname Sims in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 2,723 Americans. It ranked 270th of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Sims?
In the 2010 Census, 54% of people named Sims identified as white (not Hispanic), and 40% as Black (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Sims?
Christopher A. Sims, American econometrician and macroeconomist (1942-2026), followed by Molly Sims.
Where is the surname Sims most common?
Wikidata records people named Sims in the United States.
How do you pronounce Sims?
Sims is /sɪmz/, one syllable.
What type of surname is Sims?
Sims is a patronymic surname, formed from a father’s (or ancestor’s) given name.
Is the surname Sims getting more or less common?
More common. 107,244 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 113,374 in 2010, up 5.7%.
What are other spellings of Sims?
Simms and Symes.
Is Sims also a first name?
Yes. Sims is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.