Sime
A given name of uncertain origin, possibly derived from Simon.
Name Census estimates that about 5 living Americans carry the first name Sime. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Sime today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sime births was 1990 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sime. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Sime. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
5
~ 1 in 68,550,868 Americans
Peak year
1990
5 babies that year
Average age
35
years old
1990 SSA rank
#9,309
Tracked since 1990
Census
Sime in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 148 people with the first name Sime, which placed it at #45,698 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#45,698
National first-name rank
People counted
148
148 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
74.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sime
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sime is White at 74.3%. The next largest groups are Black (12.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (9.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Sime described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Sime at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White74.3% · 110
- Black or African American12.8% · 19
- Asian and Pacific Islander9.5% · 14
- Hispanic or Latino2.7% · 4
- Two or more races0.7% · 1
Popularity
Sime: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Sime by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Sime during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 5 | 0 | 5 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Sime
The name Sime is believed to have its origins in the Slavic languages, particularly in the Croatian and Serbian regions of the Balkans. It is thought to be derived from the Proto-Slavic word "sъměti," which means "to dare" or "to have courage." This suggests that the name may have been bestowed upon individuals who exhibited bravery or boldness.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Sime can be found in medieval Croatian records from the 14th century. It was not an uncommon name among the nobility and ruling classes of the region during this time period.
In the 16th century, Sime Budinic was a prominent Croatian humanist and philosopher who made significant contributions to the intellectual discourse of the Renaissance era. Born in 1530 in Ragusan Dubrovnik (now part of Croatia), he is particularly known for his works on moral philosophy and ethics.
Another notable figure bearing the name Sime was Sime Matavulj, a Serbian writer and journalist who lived from 1852 to 1908. He is considered one of the most important realist authors in Serbian literature and is best known for his short stories, which vividly depicted the lives and struggles of ordinary people in the Balkans.
In the 20th century, Sime Vrsaljko, a Croatian footballer, gained recognition for his exceptional skills on the field. Born in 1992, he has represented Croatia in several major international tournaments, including the 2018 FIFA World Cup, where Croatia finished as the runners-up.
Another individual worth mentioning is Sime Darby, a British businessman and entrepreneur who lived from 1800 to 1873. He established successful trading companies in Southeast Asia and was instrumental in the development of the rubber industry in Malaysia.
While the name Sime may not be as widely known or popular as some other names, its historical significance and cultural roots in the Slavic regions of the Balkans make it a unique and interesting name with a rich heritage.
People
Sime + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sime as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Sime: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sime?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 5 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sime going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 68,550,868 US residents.
Is Sime a common name?
We classify Sime as "Very Rare". It ranks above 18.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 5 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sime most popular?
The single biggest year for Sime was 1990, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sime is about 35 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Sime in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 148 people with the name Sime, or 0.05 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #45,698 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Sime in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Sime?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Sime leans strongly male. 131 people counted with this name were male (87.3%), compared with 19 female bearers (12.7%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Sime?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sime is White at 74.3%. The next largest groups are Black (12.8%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (9.5%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Sime most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Sime in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.3% (110 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Sime in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sime a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Sime in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Sime still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sime in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Sime can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have Sime as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.