The surname is a form of the name ‘Sim’ or 'Simme.' The Scottish and Dutch name of Sim can stand for the given name Simon. Most Sims have come from England and Scotland.

In England, many Sims families are in London, and the counties of Kent and Middlesex. Further north they are in Lancashire and Yorkshire. Scotland counties with Sims are Midlothian and Lanarkshire.

In the United States located in mostly southern states, including Texas, Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi.

Nearly half of the Sims families were farmers in the 1880s.

Famous: Howard ‘Sandman’ Sims (vaudeville tap dancer), Joan Sims (British actress), John Joseph Sims (19thcentury English recipient of the Victoria Cross during the Crimean War), Charles Henry Sims (19thcentury English artist), Michael Sims (writer), Molly Sims (actress and swimsuit model), Jeremy Sims (Australian actor) and William S. Sims (admiral of U. S. Navy from 1880 to 1922).