Sunset Valley/Onomatology

The onomatology (study of names) for Sims in Sunset Valley.

The Alto Family

 * Alto: means "high" in Italian, Spanish and Portuguese, also refers to the lower register of a woman's voice
 * Nick Alto: short for Nicholas, means "victory of the people" in Greek
 * Vita Alto: means "life" in Latin and in Italian
 * Holly Alto: derived from the English word "holly tree"

The Alvi Family

 * Alvi: possible reference to Alvi Dental Hospital
 * Iqbal Alvi: means "fortunate" in Arabic
 * VJ Alvi: most likely short for Vijay, which is derived from Vijaya, meaning "victory" in Sanskrit
 * Miraj Alvi: means "place of ascent" in Arabic

The Andrews Family

 * Andrews: derived from the name Andrew, meaning "man"
 * Beau Andrews: the masculine form of the word "beautiful" in French
 * Victoria Andrews: means "victory" in Latin and in Spanish

The Bachelor Family

 * Bachelor: from the English word meaning an unmarried man
 * Simis Bachelor: a pun on "sim", as the name reads "sim is bachelor"
 * Jocasta Bachelor: from Greek mythology, the mother and wife of Oedipus; meaning unknown
 * Michael Bachelor: means "who is God?" in Hebrew
 * Bella Bachelor: means "beautiful" in Italian

The Bunch Family

 * Bunch: most likely an English surname, could be referring to the fact that there are a "bunch of people" in the household, or referring to "The Brady Bunch"
 * Jack Bunch: short for John, meaning "He is gracious" in Hebrew
 * Judy Bunch: short for Judith, meaning "woman from Judea in Hebrew"
 * Ethan Bunch: means "solid, enduring" in Hebrew
 * Lisa Bunch: short for Elizabeth, meaning "my God is an oath" in Hebrew
 * Arlo Bunch: "barberry tree" in Spanish, or "hill" in German
 * Darlene Bunch: a variation of the word "darling"

The Clavell Family

 * Clavell: could be derived from Claville, which comes from the Old Scandinavian word meaning "door bolt" or "peg."
 * Buster Clavell: originally a nickname for someone who breaks things, as in "to bust."
 * Bessie Clavell: short for Elizabeth, meaning "my God is an oath" in Hebrew.
 * Xander Clavell: short for Alexander, meaning "defender" in Greek.
 * Jennie Clavell: short for Jennifer, which is derived from the name Gwenhwyfar meaning "fair, white" and "smooth" in Welsh.
 * Ransom Clavell: most likely referring to a ransom, which is "the release of property or a person in return for payment of a demanded price."

The Crumplebottom Family

 * Crumplebottom: most likely a combination of the English words "crumple" and "bottom"
 * Darling: an English word meaning a "special loved one"
 * Agnes Crumplebottom: means "chaste" in Greek
 * Erik Darling: variant of Eric, which means "ever, ruler" in Old Norse

The Frio Family

 * Frio: means "cold" in Spanish and Portuguese
 * Connor Frio: variant of Conor, meaning "wolf lover" or "dog lover" in Irish
 * Jared Frio: meaning "descent" in Hebrew

The Goth Family

 * Goth: could refer to an early East Germanic Tribe, but most likely refers to the Gothic subculture that the family seems to be a part of
 * Gunther Goth: variant of Günther, which means "war" or "army, warrior" in German
 * Cornelia Goth: means "horn" in Latin
 * Mortimer Goth: means "still water" in Old French; "mort" is also the French word for death

The Hart Family

 * Hart: an English surname that means "a male deer."
 * Gus Hart: short for Augustus, meaning "great" or "venerable" in Latin.
 * Dorie Hart: short for Dorothy, derived from Dorothea meaning "gift of God" in Greek.
 * Bebe Hart: means "baby" in Spanish and French.

The Jolina Family

 * Jolina: could be derived from the French word jolie, meaning "beautiful"
 * Jamie Jolina: originally a masculine name short for James, which is derived from Jacob meaning "holder of the heel" or "supplanter", could also mean "may God protect"

The Keaton Family

 * Keaton: an Old English surname meaning "shed town"
 * Marty Keaton: short for Martin, derived from the name Mars meaning "man" in Latin
 * Justine Keaton: feminine form of Justin, which is derived from the name Justus, meaning "just" in Latin

The Kennedy Family

 * Kennedy: means "kinsmen of Brian Boru" in Irish Gaelic
 * Erin Kennedy: anglicized form of the Irish name Eireann, meaning "Ireland"

The Koffi Family

 * Koffi: a variation of the word coffee
 * Gobias Koffi: could be a variant of Tobias, meaning "he is God" in Hebrew. The entire name is a pun, meaning "Go buy us coffee"
 * Gaylord Koffi: an English surname derived from the Old French word "gaillard", meaning "high-spirited, boisterous"; nowadays is slang for "homosexual"

The Landgraab Family

 * Landgraab: most likely a combination of the English words "land" and "grab"; therefore the surname could mean to take possesion of land for personal gain
 * Geoffrey Landgraab: comes from two Germanic elements, one which means "peace" and another which could either mean "territory", "stranger" or "hostage"
 * Nancy Landgraab: short for Anne, which is derived from the name Hannah which means "favor" or "grace" in Hebrew
 * Malcolm Landgraab: means "disciple of Saint Columba" in Scottish

The Langerak Family

 * Langerak: could be derived from the name of a town in South Holland.
 * Mae: a variant of May, the name of which is derived from the month of May.
 * Dustin Langerak: derived from Torsten, which means "Thor's stone" in Old Norse.
 * Iliana Langerak: derived from Helen, which means "light" in Greek.
 * Parker Langerak: an English occupational surname which means "keeper of the park."
 * Kaylynn Langerak: a combination of the names Kay and Lynn; Kay is short for Katherine, which could mean "each of the two" or "torture" in Greek. The former makes more sense in The Sims 2, because she's in a relationship with two men at once.
 * Zelda Mae: short for Griselda, which means "grey, battle."

The Roomies Household

 * McGraw: could mean "son of grace"
 * Donner: a French verb meaning "to give"
 * Sw0rd: an online gaming name, a sword is a weapon with a long metal blade and a handle
 * Hatch: "to hatch" is to emerge or break out of an egg; a hatch is also an opening on the roof or floor of a building
 * Wainwright: an occupational surname for a wagon-builder
 * Stiles McGraw: a variant of the surname Styles, meaning "to climb"
 * Tamara Donner: derived from Tamar, meaning "palm tree" in Hebrew
 * Cycl0n3 Sw0rd: apparently an online gaming name, a cyclone is a violent storm characterized by high winds moving around a calm center of low pressure
 * Emma Hatch: derived from the Germanic element ermen, meaning "whole, universal"
 * Blair Wainwright: means "plain, battlefield" in Gaelic

The Sekemoto Family

 * Sekemoto: presumably a Japanese surname, origin unknown
 * Yumi Sekemoto: means "archery bow" in Japanese
 * Leighton Sekemoto: variant of Layton, which means "settlement with a leek garden" in Old English
 * Sam Sekemoto: short for Samuel, which means "name of God" or "God has heard" in Hebrew

The Single Moms Household

 * McIrish: "mc" is a variant of "mac", which when placed in front of a name means "son of"; therefore the name could mean "son of Ireland"
 * French: most likely refers to the people who live in the country of France and the language they speak
 * Fiona McIrish: means "fair, white" in Irish
 * River McIrish: from the English word meaning "a flowing body of water"
 * Molly French: short for Mary, which could mean "sea of bitterness", "rebelliousness", or "wished for child"
 * Sandi French: variant of Sandy which is usually short for Alexandra, meaning "defending men"; it could also be referring to the color

The Steel Family

 * Steel: variant of Steele, which is an occupational surname for a steelworker
 * Christopher Steel: derived from a late Greek name that means "bearing Christ"

The Ursine Family

 * Ursine: could be a variant of Orsini, which means "little bear" in Italian; "ursa" means bear in latin
 * Claire Ursine: derived from Clara, which means "clear, bright, famous" in Latin

The Wainwright Family

 * Wainwright: an occupational surname for a wagon-builder
 * Boyd Wainwright: means "blond" in Gaelic
 * Susan Wainwright: derived from Susanna, which means "lily" in Hebrew

The Wan-Goddard Family

 * Wan: derived from the Chinese surname "Wang" - which means "king."
 * Goddard: meaning unknown, this is the name of several towns in the United States.
 * Pauline Wan: feminine form of Paul, which means "small, humble" in Latin.
 * Hank Goddard: a form of Henry, which was derived from a Germanic name meaning "home ruler."

The Wolff Family

 * Wolff: variant of Wolf, which refers to the animal
 * Thornton Wolff: derived from a English surname meaning "thorn town"
 * Morgana Wolff: derived from Morgan, which most likely means "sea circle" in Welsh

The Working Friends Household

 * Kimura: means "tree village" in Japanese"
 * VanWatson: means "from Watson"
 * Ansari: derived from Ansar, which means "supporters" in Arabic
 * Morris: derived from the name Maurice, which means "dark skinned" in Latin
 * Tori Kimura: short for Victoria, which means "victory"
 * Madison VanWatson: an English surname meaning "son of Maud"
 * Ayesha Ansari: a variant of 'Aisha, which means "alive" in Arabic
 * Monika Morris: variant of Monica, meaning unknown, could mean "one" in Greek