Pleasantview/Onomatology

This page is researched and written by Dom829P from the sims 2 forum and others who participated in the thread. I've just formatted it- amthysteyes2

The etymology (meaning study of the origin of words) of the Sim characters are 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 as much of the etymology as others. I have known some name meanings and most surname meanings, but I wanted to do a little extra research. Some of the names came as a shock, other names didn't seem to have an etymological relation. Now, not all of the names were intended for the definitions I have researched, but it is still interesting (and sometimes coincidental) to see what the name meanings are. If you have any questions, or something to add, feel free to comment. If you are just here to tell me I am wasting my time, I'd suggest you not post, because why would it matter to you what I do in my spare time. This etymology is only for the residents of Pleasantview, because it has the most complex set of names.

I'd like to give full appreciation to http://www.dictionary.com/, http://www.behindthename.com/, and http://www.altavista.com/tr, for those are the sites I've gotten most of the research from. I've also used http://www.google.com/ to search for some of the etymology that were not listed in the above sites.

The Goth Family
(For the rest of the Bachelor family etymology, please look under the Caliente Family category) Simon (Mortimer's grandfather) -- Means "hearkening" or "listening". Prudence (Mortimer's grandmother) -- Means "good judgement". Agnes (Mortimer's great-aunt, and the Mrs. Crumplebottom of Downtown) -- Meaning "chaste" or in other terms: "refraining from WooHoo which is regarded as immoral". Fitting name for Mrs. Crumplebottom. These names fit Mrs. Crumplebottom. The surname, although, has not made any logical sense so I've theorized it is only for comical reasons.
 * Goth -- Relates either to medieval times or means "an uncivilized person" or "a person without culture".
 * Mortimer -- In French, "mort" means death. Could also mean "still water".
 * Bella -- In Italian, "bella" means beautiful.
 * Cassandra -- In Greek myth, Cassandra was a Trojan Princess who had been given the gift of prophecy by Apollo. She spurned her advances, and Apollo cursed her so that nobody would believe her prophecies.
 * Alexander -- Means "defending man". Alexander the Great was the leader who created an empire through Greece, Egypt, Persia, and parts of India. Several other rulers and kings bear the name Alexander.
 * Mortimer's name is fitting as he is an elder so technically death is near. Bella's name seems fitting as well because---for a Sim---she is supposed to be very beautiful (considering Don Lothario tried to "Make-Out" with her). Cassandra's name confuses me, though. I don't remember her predicting something that nobody believed, but maybe she will do so in the future. Alexander's name seems fitting as well. He is the smart one and the first son; meaning he could have power to take over the family (if Dina Caliente doesn't do so first). The Goth name in general has some resemblance, as well. The family seems to be the oldest (making it "medieval").
 * Gunther (Mortimer's father) -- Means "war" and "army, warrior".
 * Cornelia (Mortimer's mother) -- From the Latin derivation, cornu, which means "horn". Or possibly, Cornelia is supposed to refer to "corn" because of the rural landscape of Pleasantview's past.
 * Victor (Mortimer's grandfather) -- One definition is "a person who has overcome, a conqueror". Another definition is "a winner in any struggle or contest".
 * Gretel (Mortimer's grandmother) -- Possibly derived from a Greek work meaning "pearl". Also, in a fairy tale, Gretel and her brother Hansel were captured by witches but managed to escape.
 * Frida (Mortimer's great-aunt) -- Means "peace".
 * These names seem to have a repetitive pattern. Most have to do with war and conquering, except for Frida. Also, I wonder if any witches ever kidnapped Gretel Goth. Can you think of any witch-like characters in the Sim's game?
 * Crumplebottom -- "Crumple" means "to bend out of shape". "Bottom" refers to "the lowest or deepest part of anything".

The Lothario Family
Don -- A "Don Juan" is basically a synonym for Lothario. Also, Donald (which Don is a common nickname for) means "ruler of the world".
 * Lothario -- "a man who obsessively seduces and deceives women" or "a man who behaves selfishly in his WooHoo relationships with women".


 * Don Lothario's name is very fitting to him. I don't even think this comment is even necessary, given those definitions above.

The names seem fitting, seeing as Don probably has a Spanish or Italian decent. Also, the Lothario theme still holds true for one or two of the names.
 * Nicolo (Don's father) -- Means "Victory of the People".
 * Adriana (Don's mother) -- Means "From Hadria". Hadria is a town in northern Italy.
 * Carmelo (Don's grandfather) -- Spanish name meaning "garden".
 * Mama (Don's grandmother) -- Slang for an attractive women.

Again the Italian/Spanish decent holds true. Notice Fiorella ends in an "a". Maxis probably wanted the name to be more masculine, changing the "a" to an "o".
 * Fiorello -- "Fiorella" is Italian for "small flower". Also Fiorello was a name of a musical in 1959.
 * Primo (Don's grandfather) -- Italian and Spanish name for "first"
 * Isabella (Don's grandmother) -- Latinate form of Elizabeth

The Caliente Family

 * Caliente -- Meaning literally "hot" in Spanish. Of course this literal term was comically taken for the slang term meaning "attractive".
 * Dina -- Means "Judged"
 * Nina -- Means "little girl" in Spanish. Could also possibly mean "fire" or derive from the Babylonian fertility goddess.
 * The Caliente surname fits both the Spanish decent inferred to this family and the attractiveness the twins have on the community. Dina and Nina's names are partially fitting, but were probably only made so that they'd rhyme for comical effect.


 * Flamenco (the twin's father) -- Flamenco is a type of music that is a very cultural tradition to Spaniards.
 * Nighat (the twin's mother) -- An Arabic name meaning "sight" or "glance". Thanks aerisblue2000!
 * Nestor (the twin's grandmother) -- Means the "homecoming" in Greek.
 * Dulcinea (the twin's grandmother's wife) -- In Spanish, "dulce" means candy.
 * Tango (the twin's great-half-uncle) -- A dance orginating from Central America.


 * The Caliente's sure love to dance, seeing by their names. Also, the Spanish/Mediterranean decent still holds true in all of the above names. Also, although I dubbed Nestor the twins' "grandmother", he is actually a male. Nestor had been impregnated by aliens, technically making him the "mother" of the twin's half-alien father and the "grandmother" of the twins. This alien abduction is also what makes the relationship to Dulcinea and Tango seem confusing, as I have written it above.

This was only added to note that the twins have an alien decent, and to show the etymology of the Pollination Technician name. Other alien names we know of (Colony Drone and Birth Queen) seem to all have to do with reproduction. It is assumed that aliens in the Sims live only for the purpose of reproducing, although it cannot be determined exactly.
 * Technician -- Someone whose occupation involves training in specific technical process. In the Sims; the Pollination Technician is an alien that operates a UFO and abducts Sims. Somehow (using advanced technology?) these Technicians can make male Sims pregnant with an alien-like form.
 * Pollination -- The process of which flowers reproduce.

This still retains the Mediterranean origin, seeing as the Arabic language is near the Middle-East, which is at the very east tip of the Mediterranean. Anything else about this family is unknown.
 * Al Mahmoud -- Arabic word meaning "praiseworthy".
 * Tariq (the twin's grandfather) -- Means "he who pounds at the door". It is the arabic name of the morning star.
 * Benazir (the twin's grandmother) -- An Arabic name meaning "incomparable". Benazir was the name of the prophet Mohammed's daughter. Thanks aerisblue2000!

(For etymology of Bella Bachelor ---or now Bella Goth--- please look under the Goth Category)
 * Bachelor -- "an unmarried man"
 * Michael (brother of Bella Goth) -- Name means "Who is like God?"
 * Simis (Michael's father) -- Pun on "Sim is" so that the name reads "Sim is Bachelor".
 * Jocasta (Michael's mother) -- Latinized form of a Greek name. Meaning unknown. Possibly used here as a pun, like Simis.
 * Dina Caliente was married to Michael Bachelor before his death. Michael Bachelor's tomb remains in the Caliente home. Michael Bachelor was single in the Sims 1 game and was living at the time. I see here that there is no etymology relationship with the game. Just a few puns, and a popular name. Another few puns are in Strangetown: "Notzo Curious" and "Zo Curious".

The Broke Family
Other than the surname, I don't think that there is much relation to their name meanings at all.
 * Broke -- To go broke is "to become destitute of money or possession". The last name could also be a reference to "her water broke", since Brandi is pregnant when the game starts.
 * Brandi -- Simply means "brandy" from the English word of an alcholic drink.
 * Dustin -- From the Old Norse, meaning "Thor's stone"
 * Beau -- Means "beautiful" in French


 * Skip (Dustin and Beau's father) -- "To pass from one point to another, disregarding what intervenes."
 * Flat (Skip's father) -- Pun on Flat Broke, meaning "completely penniless".
 * Flo (Skip's mother) -- Short for names that mean "flower, prosperous, flowering."


 * Flat's name is simply to exaggerate how poor the Broke's have been in a comical way. Skip's name could have some etymology, though. According to Brandi's memories, Skip dies before Beau is born. Using the definition, this means Skip passed from death to impregnate Brandi again, even though his death intervened.

Bob (Brandi's father) -- Short for Robert, meaning "bright fame". Betty (Brandi's mother) -- Short for Elizabeth, meaning "my god is oath". Bob, Sr. (Brandi's grandfather) -- Short for Robert, meaning "bright fame". Mags (Brandi's grandmother) -- Possibly meaning pearl
 * Newbie -- "a newcomer or novice, an inexperienced user of computers in general".


 * The Newbie Family was the one in the Sims 1 for "novice and inexperienced" users of the Sims. It was the tutorial family of the game. Bob's name fits, seeing as he had fame since every novince Sims player eventually played him (that is, if they followed the tutorial and the arrow pointing toward the Newbie lot). Mainly, this family has been added so that players could relate to Sims 1.


 * Simovitch -- "ovitch" is the Russian suffix meaning "son of". So Simovitch means "Son of Sim". Thanks DarkShadowofFate!
 * Vadim (Brandi's grandfather) -- Russian name, meaning unknown, possibly derived from a word meaning "rule".
 * Fatima (Brandi's grandmother) -- Means "to abstain" in Arabic.


 * The Simovitch Family has very few to no relations to their names. The only the intention this family was placed here was to fill up a space for Brandi's grandparents.