Meaning of the nameSilas
Silas is a biblical masculine name that Wiktionary traces from Aramaic through Greek and Latin; the meaning of the name is not known for certain.
Meaning
The meaning of Silas is not known for certain. No reliable source documents it, so we give none; below are the origin of the spelling and the official figures.
- People (2022)
- 33,856
- Rank in Brazil
- #754
- Median age
- 32 years
- 2010 Census
- 34,591
- people
Silas in the 2022 Census
People with the first name Silas, by the decade they were born. In the chart, 70 = the 1970s and 20+ = 2020 to 2022. The largest group was born in the 1990s (8,642 people).
369 women 33,487 men
Source: IBGE, 2022 Demographic Census, Nomes no Brasil. The census counts the first name of people alive in 2022; small counts are not published, and the first group covers everyone born before 1940. How to read these data.
Where the name Silas is most common
States with the highest share of people named Silas in the population, in the 2022 Census.
All states
| State | People | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| São Paulo | 8,379 | 0.019% |
| Minas Gerais | 3,701 | 0.018% |
| Bahia | 3,436 | 0.024% |
| Rio de Janeiro | 2,907 | 0.018% |
| Pará | 2,108 | 0.026% |
| Pernambuco | 1,792 | 0.020% |
| Goiás | 1,354 | 0.019% |
| Maranhão | 1,263 | 0.019% |
| Paraná | 1,202 | 0.011% |
| Amazonas | 1,060 | 0.027% |
| Ceará | 812 | 0.009% |
| Espírito Santo | 708 | 0.019% |
| Mato Grosso | 576 | 0.016% |
| Santa Catarina | 477 | 0.006% |
| Rio Grande do Norte | 473 | 0.014% |
| Distrito Federal | 472 | 0.017% |
| Rio Grande do Sul | 412 | 0.004% |
| Paraíba | 388 | 0.010% |
| Mato Grosso do Sul | 381 | 0.014% |
| Rondônia | 337 | 0.021% |
| Piauí | 332 | 0.010% |
| Alagoas | 327 | 0.011% |
| Tocantins | 279 | 0.019% |
| Sergipe | 247 | 0.011% |
| Amapá | 179 | 0.024% |
| Roraima | 161 | 0.025% |
| Acre | 93 | 0.011% |
States with fewer than 15 people with the name are not shown: IBGE does not publish those counts.
About the name Silas
In the New Testament, Silas is the name of a companion of the apostle Paul. Wiktionary records the name in Portuguese as coming from Latin Silas, from Greek Σίλας (Sílas) and from an Aramaic form, which the English entry treats as cognate with Hebrew Saul. Behind the Name considers Silas probably a short form of Silvanus, the name by which Paul calls him in the epistles, and cites the hypothesis that Silas and Silvanus are Greek and Latin forms of Saul, through Aramaic. With these different readings, the meaning of the name is not known for certain. In the 2022 Census, IBGE recorded 33,856 people named Silas, a name almost always male, with a median age of 32.
Sources
- Wiktionary: Silas · en.wiktionary.org · origin
- Behind the Name: Silas · behindthename.com · origin
- Dicionário de Nomes em Uso no Brasil: Silas · dicionariodenomesdobrasil.com.br · spelling
Questions about the name Silas
What does the name Silas mean?
The meaning of Silas is not known for certain: no reliable source documents it. So we give no meaning; the page shows the origin of the spelling and the official figures.
How many people are named Silas in Brazil?
IBGE's 2022 Census recorded 33,856 people with the first name Silas, which ranks it number 754 among the country's names. The largest group was born in the 1990s.
Is Silas a boy's or a girl's name?
Silas is a male name: in the 2022 Census, 369 women and 33,487 men had this name.
What is the origin of the name Silas?
Silas is a name of Aramaic, Greek and Latin origin. The sources are listed at the end of the page.
In which Brazilian state is Silas most common?
Proportionally, in Amazonas: 0.027% of the state's population is named Silas (1,060 people), according to the 2022 Census.
More names of Aramaic origin
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