Meaning of the nameSylvia
- Female
- Latin origin
- Syl-vi-a
Sylvia is a spelling of the name Sílvia, which means “feminine form of Silvius, from silva, 'forest'”.
Meaning
“feminine form of Silvius, from silva, 'forest'”
Meaning of the name Sílvia, of which Sylvia is a spelling.
Source: Wiktionary: Sílvia · Wiktionary: Silvia · Behind the Name: Silvia
- People (2022)
- 3,546
- Rank in Brazil
- #3,475
- Median age
- 59 years
- 2010 Census
- 3,074
- people
Sylvia in the 2022 Census
People with the first name Sylvia, by the decade they were born. In the chart, 70 = the 1970s and 20+ = 2020 to 2022. The largest group was born in the 1960s (681 people).
3,536 women 0 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 Sylvia is most common
States with the highest share of people named Sylvia in the population, in the 2022 Census.
- Rio de Janeiro 0.006%
- São Paulo 0.003%
- Rio Grande do Sul 0.002%
- Pernambuco 0.002%
- Minas Gerais 0.001%
All states
| State | People | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| São Paulo | 1,167 | 0.003% |
| Rio de Janeiro | 922 | 0.006% |
| Minas Gerais | 276 | 0.001% |
| Rio Grande do Sul | 162 | 0.002% |
| Pernambuco | 132 | 0.002% |
| Paraná | 131 | 0.001% |
| Bahia | 112 | 0.001% |
| Distrito Federal | 74 | 0.003% |
| Santa Catarina | 69 | 0.001% |
| Espírito Santo | 66 | 0.002% |
| Pará | 52 | 0.001% |
| Ceará | 51 | 0.001% |
| Rio Grande do Norte | 45 | 0.001% |
| Goiás | 44 | 0.001% |
| Amazonas | 41 | 0.001% |
| Paraíba | 33 | 0.001% |
| Alagoas | 29 | 0.001% |
| Sergipe | 28 | 0.001% |
| Mato Grosso do Sul | 26 | 0.001% |
| Maranhão | 25 | 0.000% |
| Mato Grosso | 21 | 0.001% |
States with fewer than 15 people with the name are not shown: IBGE does not publish those counts.
The spelling Sylvia
According to Behind the Name, the spelling with Y has been the most common in English since the nineteenth century; Wiktionary records it as a variant of Sílvia.
About the name Sílvia
Wiktionary gives Silvia as the feminine form of Silvius and Sílvia as a borrowing from Latin Silvia, both from silva, 'woods, forest'. Behind the Name also explains Silvia as the feminine of Silvius and records Sílvio as the Portuguese masculine form. Sílvia, with an accent, is the form that Wiktionary records for Portuguese, with Silvia and Sylvia as alternative forms. In the 2022 Census, IBGE recorded 180,610 people named Silvia, with a median age of 49, almost always women born in the 1960s and 1970s.
Other spellings of Sílvia
| Spelling | People (2022) |
|---|---|
| Sílvia | 180,610 |
| Sylvia | 3,546 |
Sources
- Wiktionary: Sílvia · en.wiktionary.org · meaning
- Wiktionary: Silvia · en.wiktionary.org · meaning
- Behind the Name: Silvia · behindthename.com · meaning
- Behind the Name: Sylvia · behindthename.com · spelling
- Dicionário de Nomes em Uso no Brasil: Silvia · dicionariodenomesdobrasil.com.br · spelling
Questions about the name Sylvia
What does the name Sylvia mean?
Sylvia means “feminine form of Silvius, from silva, 'forest'”, according to Wiktionary and Behind the Name. This is the meaning of the name Sílvia, of which Sylvia is a spelling.
How many people are named Sylvia in Brazil?
IBGE's 2022 Census recorded 3,546 people with the first name Sylvia, which ranks it number 3,475 among the country's names. The largest group was born in the 1960s.
Is Sylvia a boy's or a girl's name?
Sylvia is a female name: in the 2022 Census, 3,536 women and 0 men had this name (IBGE does not publish very small counts).
What is the origin of the name Sylvia?
Sylvia is a name of Latin origin. The sources are listed at the end of the page.
In which Brazilian state is Sylvia most common?
Proportionally, in Rio de Janeiro: 0.006% of the state's population is named Sylvia (922 people), according to the 2022 Census.
What are the other spellings of Sylvia?
Sílvia. IBGE counts each spelling separately.
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Spotted a mistake? Report a correction for Sylvia with a source. See the methodology.