Sylvia Name Meaning, Origin, Popularity, Girl Names Like Sylvia

Sylvia Name Origin: Latin
Pronunciation: s(y)-lvia, syl-via
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Sylvia Name Meaning

The name Sylvia conveys a sense of beauty and nature, evoking images of woodland landscapes and greenery. It is also associated with strength and independence, as the mythical Silvia was a strong and determined woman.

Origins of the Name Sylvia

The name Sylvia is of Latin origin, deriving from the word “silva” meaning “forest” or “woods”. In Roman mythology, Silvia was the mother of Romulus and Remus, the legendary founders of Rome. The name was popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, but has since declined in popularity.

Popularity of the Name Sylvia

In the early 20th century, Sylvia was a popular name in many English-speaking countries, ranking among the top 100 names for girls in the United States and United Kingdom.

In recent decades, however, the popularity of Sylvia has declined, and it is now considered a less common name.

Final Thoughts on the Name Sylvia

Despite its declining popularity, Sylvia remains a timeless and elegant name with a rich history and meaning. Whether you are drawn to its association with nature and beauty or its connotations of strength and independence, Sylvia is a name that is sure to stand the test of time.

Sylvia Name Popularity

How popular is the name Sylvia? Here’s everything we know.

Year	Rank	# Births	% Births
1910	—	975	0.2769%
1911	—	1,173	0.315%
1912	—	1,617	0.3206%
1913	—	1,998	0.3524%
1914	—	2,545	0.3652%
1915	—	3,269	0.3598%
1916	—	3,403	0.3523%
1917	—	3,463	0.3461%
1918	—	3,665	0.3415%
1919	—	3,404	0.3251%
1920	—	3,312	0.2979%
1921	—	3,288	0.2871%
1922	—	2,948	0.2646%
1923	—	2,834	0.253%
1924	—	2,749	0.2367%
1925	—	2,531	0.2239%
1926	—	2,514	0.2286%
1927	—	2,340	0.2114%
1928	—	2,213	0.2068%
1929	—	2,029	0.1959%
1930	—	1,822	0.1744%
1931	—	1,920	0.1945%
1932	—	2,562	0.2593%
1933	—	2,930	0.3145%
1934	—	3,471	0.3591%
1935	—	3,613	0.3718%
1936	—	4,154	0.4312%
1937	—	4,363	0.4428%
1938	—	4,256	0.4157%
1939	—	3,867	0.3802%
1940	—	3,791	0.3567%
1941	—	3,779	0.3358%
1942	—	3,725	0.295%
1943	—	3,619	0.2772%
1944	—	3,283	0.2649%
1945	—	3,370	0.2763%
1946	—	4,089	0.2771%
1947	—	4,098	0.2455%
1948	—	3,667	0.2297%
1949	—	3,802	0.2363%
1950	—	3,606	0.224%
1951	—	3,768	0.2222%
1952	—	3,789	0.2171%
1953	—	3,811	0.2153%
1954	—	4,078	0.2231%
1955	—	3,989	0.2169%
1956	—	4,135	0.2189%
1957	—	4,298	0.2234%
1958	—	4,147	0.2194%
1959	—	3,841	0.2022%
1960	—	3,807	0.2009%
1961	—	3,735	0.1978%
1962	—	3,426	0.1866%
1963	—	3,268	0.1821%
1964	—	2,917	0.1657%
1965	—	2,947	0.1802%
1966	—	2,384	0.1527%
1967	—	2,181	0.1437%
1968	—	1,924	0.1281%
1969	—	1,792	0.1163%
1970	—	1,696	0.1066%
1971	—	1,548	0.103%
1972	—	1,424	0.1046%
1973	—	1,318	0.1017%
1974	—	1,324	0.1019%
1975	—	1,112	0.0865%
1976	—	1,031	0.08%
1977	—	958	0.0711%
1978	—	918	0.0683%
1979	—	988	0.0701%
1980	—	923	0.0631%
1981	—	961	0.0654%
1982	—	958	0.0641%
1983	—	1,000	0.0678%
1984	—	976	0.0656%
1985	—	910	0.06%
1986	—	852	0.0564%
1987	—	818	0.0536%
1988	—	823	0.0528%
1989	—	764	0.0473%
1990	—	795	0.048%
1991	—	800	0.0491%
1992	—	676	0.0424%
1993	—	639	0.041%
1994	—	556	0.0362%
1995	—	547	0.0363%
1996	—	500	0.0334%
1997	—	469	0.0317%
1998	—	510	0.0341%
1999	—	487	0.0325%
2000	—	507	0.0332%
2001	—	470	0.0312%
2002	—	499	0.0333%
2003	—	460	0.0302%
2004	—	453	0.0297%
2005	—	494	0.0323%
2006	—	545	0.0348%
2007	—	553	0.035%
2008	—	504	0.0326%
2009	—	507	0.0339%
2010	—	484	0.0336%
2011	—	487	0.0342%
2012	—	541	0.038%
2013	—	552	0.0388%
2014	—	596	0.0409%
2015	—	628	0.0432%
2016	—	579	0.0402%
2017	—	582	0.0417%
2018	—	599	0.0436%
2019	—	575	0.0425%
2020	—	532	0.0418%
2021	—	567	0.0464%
2022	—	682	0.0517%
2023	—	697	0.0539%

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Data via SSA.gov.

Names Like Sylvia

If you like Sylvia, you’ll love these other names like Sylvia.

What names are diminutives of Sylvia?

A diminutive is a name that’s like Sylvia sounds, you might also like these names that sound like Sylvia, but shorter.

Name	Meaning	Origin	Popularity	Other Gender
Syl	A diminutive form of Sylvia.
Sylvie	Woods, forest	Latin

What names are variants of Sylvia?

Mix it up with these names that are a variation of the name Sylvia.

Name	Meaning	Origin
Silva	Woodland, forest; woods, forest	Latin
Silvaine	Woods, forest	Latin
Silvana	Woodland, forest	Italian
Silvania	Woods, forest	Latin
Silvanna	Woodland, forest; woods, forest	Latin
Silvia	Woods, forest	Latin
Silviana	Woods, forest	Latin
Silvianne	Woods, forest	Latin
Silvie	Woods, forest	Latin
Sylva	Woods, forest	Latin
Sylvana	Woods, forest	Latin
Sylvanna	Woods, forest	Latin

Sylvee	Woods, forest	Latin
Sylvette	Woods, forest	Latin
Sylviana	Woods, forest	Latin
Sylvianne	Woods, forest	Latin
Sylvie	Woods, forest	Latin
Sylvina	Woods, forest	Latin
Sylvine	Woods, forest	Latin
Sylvonna	Woods, forest	Latin
Sylwia	Woods, forest	Latin
Zilvia	Woods, forest	Latin
Zylvia	Woods, forest	Latin

What names sound like Sylvia?

If you like how Sylvia sounds, you might also like these names that sound like Sylvia.

Name	Meaning	Origin
Sallvia	Whole, healthy	Latin
Salvia	Whole, healthy	Latin
Silvi	Woods, forest	Latin
Silvya	Woods, forest	Latin

What names are similar to Sylvia?

Find a name that’s like Sylvia, but just a little bit different.

Name	Meaning	Origin	Popularity	Other Gender

Xylia	Woodland; wood-dweller	Greek

Lists With Sylvia

Find inspiration in these baby girl name lists featuring the name Sylvia.

Siblings of Sylvia

Mamas with kids named Sylvia also have kids with these names.

Name	Meaning	Origin	Popularity	Other Gender
Andrew	Manly and powerful	Greek

Share Your Thoughts

11 Comments

Emily May 29 at 10:11 am

It’s beautiful, means of the woods, and not too common. But not too unique either.

Reply
Kate Emily Houston Dec 10 at 5:01 am

Sylvia, Kaydence, and Zofia are the sneak squad (they’re my kids and no its not a real show) and although Zofia’s oldest, Sylvia’s pretty much the leader :D… 🙂

Reply
Felicia Aug 17 at 12:32 pm

My husband chose the name because he love the name and I agree with the choice of name. My little girl is beyond adorable and has her dad’s like mommy

Reply
Elena Jul 25 at 9:57 am

Sylvia is a beautiful and feminine name that means woman of the forest.

Reply
Sandra Black Jan 14 at 5:24 pm

We named our daughter, born in 2016, Sylvia. We just loved the name and I coincidentally have an aunt Sylvia. We gave her the 2nd name of Faye after my husband’s aunt.
And coincidentally, Sylvia means Forest and Faye means fairy. Our surname is Black so our daughter is a black forest fairy ?

Reply
Patricia Aug 16 at 10:06 am

My native language is Spanish so I wanted a Spanish sounding name for my daughter, preferably something with three syllables. My husband loves that it has name connotations “of the woods” and “forest.”

Reply
Sylvia Feb 23 at 2:21 am

Angelic

Reply
- Eula Dec 10 at 5:02 am
  
  Your sylvia
  
  Reply
Katie Jan 4 at 1:00 pm

Sylvia means of the woods or forest. As big nature & hiking people we found it even more perfect that the name Sylvia reflects that.

Reply
Stacey May 16 at 11:18 pm

I had my mom’s best friends that was also my god parents i knew then ever since i was two years old im 32 now and they both have past a ways 2 years ago and my god father was Sylvester and my godmother was Olivia so i took both their names and put then together and got Sylvia and her middle name is Jean which i got from her dad’s mom it was his mother’s middle name

Reply
Meghan Oct 16 at 11:51 am

It was a Finnish family name on both sides of the family.

Reply

Sylvia