The onomatology (meaning study of the origin of names) of the Sim characters is sometimes hilarious, but always interesting. Many of the names had been intentionally chosen for etymology reasons. Simmers have found out many of the meanings, although a large-enough portion do not mean as much as the onomatology of others. Some of the names came as a shock, other names didn't seem to have an onomatological relation. Not all of the names were intended for the definitions researched, but it is still interesting (and sometimes coincidental) to see what the name meanings are. This onomatology is only for the residents of Bluewater Village.
The Tinker family[]
Tinker: One who enjoys experimenting with and repairing machine parts. A clumsy repairer or worker; a meddler. (Since the Tinkers are toymakers, there could also be an allusion to the Tinkertoy construction toy.)
- Stephen: From stephanos "crown, and garland."
- Wanda: "Vandalism". Also possibly (Old German) "wanderer." Harpsichord player Wanda Landowska.
- Melody: A tune; sequence of notes that makes up a musical phrase or a studious and quiet woman.
- Ron (Stephen's father): "Having the Gods' Power," from rögn "gods," lit. "decreeing powers" (pl. of regin "decree") + valdr "ruler."
- Lauren (Stephen's mother): "a shimmering effect seen over a hot surface."
Zarubin family: A Russian surname originating from the noun zarub, meaning "a notch in a tree".
- Autumn (Wanda's mother): A Latin name which means "fall, season of harvest".
- Damion (Wanda's father): A Greek name which means "to tame, subdue".
The Ramirez family[]
Ramirez: patronymic from the personal name Ramiro, composed of the Germanic elements ragin ‘counsel’ + mari, meri ‘fame’.
- Lisa: An English diminutive of Elizabeth, the English form of the Hebrew name, Elisheva, or Elisheba. Originally, it meant “My God is Bountiful,” “God of Plenty,” “Consecrated to God,” “Oath of God,” “God is Satisfaction,” or “God is Perfection.”
- Checo: May be a variant of the nickname Chico. Chico can be translated as "boy" or "kid", so Checo or Chico may simply be something one or both of his parents called him. A literal translation of "Checo" would be "Czech", but that doesn't make much sense as an origin for the name.
- Tessa: Originally a pet form of Theresa (harvester), Tessa is now commonly bestowed as an independent given name.
- Juan (Checo's father): Was occasionally used in English-speaking countries due to the influence of Lord Byron’s Don Juan and Mozart’s opera of the same name (at this time it was usually mispronounced “joo-awn”). It is currently one of the most popular Spanish names in the United States. It is also very common name in Spanish-speaking countries
- Theresa (Checo's mother): Therasia, being borne by the Spanish wife of Saint Paulinus of Nola in the 4th century. The meaning is uncertain, but it could be derived from Greek θερος (theros) "summer," from Greek θεριζω (therizo) "to harvest."
Mendoza family: A common Spanish surname and place name. The Portuguese version is Mendonça.
- Armando (Lisa's father): Army man, variation of Herman, variation of Armand, of the army
- Carmen (Lisa's mother): A name very common in Spain, and it comes from "carmín," which is a very strong red .Is also a French opéra comique by Georges Bizet. The libretto is by Henri Meilhac and Ludovic Halévy, based on the novella of the same title by Prosper Mérimée.
The Landgraab family[]
Landgraab: As in a "land grab", a forceful or underhanded taking of land to broaden a developer's land holdings (i.e. money and power).
- Malcolm II (Malcolm IV's paternal grandfather), III (Malcom IV's father), IV: (there was a quote on him) We will establish our estate upon.
- Mom: Refers to the biological and/or social female parent of an offspring.
- Marion (Malcolm IV's paternal grandmother): A form of Mary meaning "bitterness", "rebelliousness", "wished for child" or "drop of the sea".
- Margaret (Malcolm IV's mother): A Greek name meaning "pearl" or "precious".
Buckingham family: In the 7th century AD, Buckingham, literally "meadow of Bucca's people".
- Blair (Malcolm IV's maternal grandfather): (Celtic) "a plain". From a surname.
- Virginia (Malcolm IV's paternal grandmother): (Latin) "chaste". According to legend, she was a Roman woman killed by her father so as to keep her a virgin.
The Delarosa family[]
Delarosa: translates to "of the rose" in Spanish and Italian, which would be appropriate given that Florence is a florist. sounds like (rose) "thorn, bramble." "optimistic" "cheerful" "promising".
- Florence: "blooming", "to flower", "city name".
- Mary (Florence's mother): A possible reference to the Mary Rose (also called an Ausmary, a type of English rose) "mother of Jesus, "rebellion" . It is also the name of a Nursery rhyme "Mary had a Little Lamb".
- William (Florence's father): from willio "will" "will helmet" The name has belonged to rulers of England. Also a possible reference to the flower sweet william.
The Jacquet Family[]
Jacquet: "a going on, action of walking forward," Figurative sense of "growth, development, advancement to higher stages"
- Gilbert: "a bright will", "a light pledge", "bright"
- Denise: Female version of Dionysius, a male name originating from Ancient Greece. In Greek mythology, Dionysus was the god of wine responsible for growth of the vines and the originator of winemaking.
- Yves (Denise's husband): The name of two French saints.
- In some language versions, he is known as Xavier, which is derived from the Basque place name Etxaberri meaning "the new house".
- Jerome (Yves' father): masc. proper name, from Fr. Jérome, from L.L. Hieronymus, from Gk. Hieronymos, lit. "holy name," from hieros "holy" + onyma, dialectal form of onoma "name".
- Suzanne (Yves' father): Derived from the Hebrew Soshana, a derivative of shōshannāh (a lily, a rose).
Jeffress family: Derived from a Norman personal name that appears in Middle English as Geffrey and in Old French as Je(u)froi. Some authorities regard this as no more than a palatalized form of Godfrey.
- Nicole (Denise's mother): The French feminine form of Nicholas, from a Greek name. Originally it meant “Victory of the People” from “nike” (victory) and “laos” (people).
- Sabastian (Denise's father): Man from Sebaste is very likely a(n) Latin variant of the name Sebastian. See other suggested Latin boy baby names.
The Gieke family[]
Gieke: "A fool, dupe, simpleton" "to croak, cackle," "to mock, cheat", "wild men".
- Chester: The English form of “castra” or “caester” the Roman Latin word for “Fort.” It appears in many British places names and surnames (Winchester, Rochester, Manchester, Chichester, Chesterfield, Worchester, etc.).
- Carl (Chester's father): Means "man", "husband".
- Lucy (Chester's mother): Female version of "Lucian", which means "light."
The Larson family[]
Larson: Lar - household/home, Son - a male child, a boy or man in relation to his parents
- Jodie: A variant of Jody (English) and Joseph (Hebrew), and the meaning of Jodie is "Jehovah increases". also is a very rare male first name and a very rare surname
- Jason: "healer; the Lord is salvation". Variant of Joshua. Biblical: an early Christian associate of Paul.
- Alvin (Jodie and Jason's father): Derived from the Old English names Æthelwine and Ealdwine, which mean "noble friend" and "old friend" respectively.
- Elise (Jodie and Jason's mother: A French name which means "God promise".