Pleasantview/Onomatology

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 mean as much as the etymology of others. Some of the names came as a shock, other names didn't seem to have an etymological 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 etymology is only for the residents of Pleasantview, because it has the most complex set of names.

The Goth Family

 * Goth: Relates either to medieval times or means "an uncivilized person" or "a person without culture". The Goth name in general has some resemblance, as well. The family seems to be the oldest (making it "medieval").


 * Mortimer: In French, "mort" means death. Could also mean "still water". Mortimer's name is fitting as he is an elder so technically death is near.


 * Bella: In Italian, "bella" means beautiful. Bella's name seems fitting because---for a Sim---she is supposed to be very beautiful (considering Don Lothario tried to "Make-Out" with her).

Note: For the rest of the Bachelor Family etymology, please look under the Caliente Family.


 * Cassandra: In Greek myth, Cassandra was a Trojan Princess who had been given the gift of prophecy by Apollo. She spurned his advances, and Apollo cursed her so that nobody would believe her prophecies. Cassandra's name is confusing because she doesn't predict anything that nobody believed, but maybe she will do so in the future.


 * 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. 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).


 * 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. If there were a witch-like character in the Sims' games that may have kidnapped Gretel Goth, this name would make more sense.


 * Frida (Mortimer's great-aunt): Means "peace".


 * Crumplebottom -- "Crumple" means "to bend out of shape". "Bottom" refers to "the lowest or deepest part of anything".


 * Simon Crumplebottom (Mortimer's grandfather): Means "hearkening" or "listening".


 * Prudence Crumplebottom (Mortimer's grandmother): Means "good judgement". Also connects to the word "Prude", adding to the belief that she is Ms. Crumplebottom.


 * Agnes Crumplebottom (Mortimer's great-aunt, and the supposedly 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 it is theorized it is used only for comical reasons.

The Lothario Family

 * Lothario: "A man who obsessively seduces and deceives women" or "a man who behaves selfishly in his WooHoo relationships with women". Lothario is also a term for any man who behaves in a way that he does. 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.


 * Don: A "Don Juan" is basically a synonym for Lothario. Also, Donald (which Don is a common nickname for) means "ruler of the world". Don Lothario's name seems to be very fitting to him.


 * 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 woman.


 * Fiorello: "Fiorella" is Italian for "small flower". Also Fiorello was a name of a musical in 1959. 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".


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


 * The Calientes 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 name of an alcoholic 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 novice 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.

The Pleasant Family
(For Daniel's sister, Jennifer Burb, and her side of the family, please look under the Burb category) (For Mary-Sue's adoptive parents etymology, please look under the Oldie category)
 * Pleasant -- "pleasing, agreeable, enjoyable"
 * Daniel -- From a Hebrew name meaning "Judged by God" or "God is my judge"
 * Mary-Sue -- Mary Sue is a term for a fictional character of fan-fiction that are portrayed in an overly idealized way and lacking noteworthy or realistic flaws.
 * Angela -- The name derives from the heavenly angels.
 * Lillith -- Meaning "of the night". This name was a demon in ancient Assyrian myths. In Jewish and Islamic tradition, she was Adam's first wife but was replaced by Eve. Offspring of Adam and Lillith were the evil spirits of the world.


 * All names seem to fit in quite nicely. The name Lillith seems to be very fitting to her character, but holds a really bad reputation. Angela's name is the most obvious, but fitting. You can kind of see Mary-Sue as the "wanting-to-be-perfect" role in the family. And Daniel is "Judged by God" for cheating on his wife


 * Jeff (Daniel's dad) -- Means either "territory peace", "stranger peace", "hostage peace" or "god's peace".
 * Diane (Daniel's mom) -- Meaning "heavenly, divine"
 * Les (Daniel's grandfather) -- A pun so that the name says "Less Pleasant"
 * Kynda (Daniel's grandmother) -- A pun so that the name says "Kind of Pleasant"


 * No real relation there. The puns are quite hilarious, seeing as Les is a real name, short for Lester or Leslie.


 * Dander -- "loose scales formed on the skin and shed from the coat of feathers of various animals"
 * Marshall -- Means "horse servant"
 * Melinda -- Combination of "Mel" as in Melanie or Melissa and the popular suffix "inda". Means "honey" in Greek. Also means "sweet", "dark" and "serpent" in other languages. Might mean "horse" in Simish. Thanks fireflygolden!

The Burb Family
(For Jennifer's side of the family, please look under the Pleasant category)
 * Burb -- Slang for "suburb" which describes Pleasantview.
 * John -- Popular name meaning "Yahweh is Gracious"
 * Jennifer (Daniel's sister) -- Popular name meaning "fair, white, smooth"
 * Lucy -- Populary name meaning "light"


 * The only repetive thing here is that all of the names are popular. John and Jennifer don't have a relation between their names' meaning and their life. Since Lucy is still young when the game starts out, her name could mean something.


 * Brad (John's father) -- Popular name meaning "broad".
 * Tiffany (John's mother) -- Popular name meaning "manifestation of god"
 * Benjamin (John's grandfather) -- Popular name meaning "son of the south"
 * Susan (John's grandmother) -- Popular name meaning "lily" or "rose"


 * Again, there is a repetive occurence of popular names. Of course, due to the little bit we know about these characters, there is no real relevance to their etymology.


 * Marsh -- "a tract of low wet land, often treeless, and periodically flooded".
 * William (John's grandfather) -- Popular name meaning "will, desire" and "helmet, protection"
 * Anastasia (John's grandmother) -- Means "resurrection"


 * The only thing I'd like to point out is that Marsh and Burb both describe a place.

The Oldie Family

 * Oldie -- slang for a person who is "far advanced in the years of his/her life". You could also use the term "chronologically challenged".
 * Herb (Mary-Sue's adoptive father) -- A flowering plant whose stem above ground does not become woody. Such a plant valued for medical properties.
 * Coral (Mary-Sue's adoptive mother) -- The rock like composite found in a reef.
 * Myron (Herb's father) -- Means "Myrrh" in Greek. Myrrh is a fragrant resin obtained from the bark of an Arbanian tree.
 * Irma (Herb's mother) -- Means "whole, universal".


 * Ruggbyrne -- A rug burn is the rash-like or burn-like injury resulting from the friction of rubbing bare skin on a rough surface, such as a rug.
 * Bruno (Coral's father) -- Means "brown".
 * Mamie (Coral's mother) -- Short for Mary or Margaret.
 * Marnie? (Coral's mother) -- Means "of the sea"
 * I had to put two definitions for Coral's mother because I am not completely sure of what her name is. The letters "R and N" and the letter "M" look completely the same when lowercased in the Family Tree font of the Sims 2. "Marnie" fits better, though, seeing as Coral is "of the sea".

The Dreamer Family

 * Dreamer -- A person who lives in a world of fantasy; one who is impractical and unrealistic.
 * Darren -- A slang-like term for "Daring"*Darleen (deceased) -- From combination of darling and popular name suffix -leen.
 * Dirk -- a type of dagger.


 * There is no relation at all to the etymology of the Dreamers, except for the surname. The only interesting bit is that all of the names start with the letter "D". To follow that, there would be a limited choice of the names they could be, and an even more limited choice of etymology references. It is also interesting to note that Darren's name can be twisted to mean, 'great dreamer.'


 * Davis (Darren's father) -- Deriving from David, meaning beloved
 * Delilah (Darren's mother) -- Means "delicate"
 * Dalmar (Darren's grandfather) -- Form of Delmar, meaning "of the sea" in Spanish.
 * Dacia (Darren's grandmother) -- ((no information found, possibly means "daisy"))


 * Darong -- ((no information found, but Darong is an anagram of Dragon))
 * Sef (Darren's grandfather) -- ((no information found))
 * Lina (Darren's grandmother) -- Means either "palm tree" or "tender" in Arabic.


 * Matlapin -- ((no information found))
 * Omar (Darleen's father) -- Means "speaker" in Hebrew.
 * Mariana (Darleen's mother) -- Means "of the sea".