Silva

Spellings & scripts●

Locally spelled Силва in RU Russia and Სილვა in GE Georgia.

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 13 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Silva is also recorded as 5 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• English surname1.8M records spelled Silva124 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Peru, Australia, Ecuador

  Languages: English, German, Sinhala

  Also written Silvi, Silva', Silvaa, Sïlvä, Silvá

• French surname607K records spelled Silva86 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in France, Spain, United States, Belgium

  Languages: French, Catalan, Portuguese

  Also written Silvi, Silvanus, Silvà, Silvã, Sîlvà

• Indonesian surname424K records spelled Silva10 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Indonesia, Philippines, United States, Peru

  Languages: Indonesian, Malay

  Also written 'Silva, Silvã, Śĭlvã, Šiļvằ, Sïlvã

• a separate surname221K records spelled Silva5 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Ecuador, India, United Kingdom

  Also written Silvā, Sílva, Silṿa

• Finnish surname38K records spelled Silva19 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Finland, Peru, Philippines

  Languages: Finnish, Estonian

  Also written Silvä, Sîlvã, Šilva, Šįlvá, Sílva

102 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Silva is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In Portuguese, bramble (any of various thorny shrubs, especially those in the family Rubus)

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• Spain; widespread Sephardic surname

  as a name·Dicionario Sefaradi De SobrenomesDictionary Of Sephardic Surnames Inclusive Cristaos-Novos, Conversos, Marranos, Italianos,…

• Plg. rus. Сильва : Силъван (H. Петровский, 1966, c. 356). ♦SILVANAS Pbrd (of. Sylvari). Iš krikšto vardo, plg. brus. Силван, O Сыван, Силиван (M. Бирыла, 1966, c. 148), lenk. Sylwan (SSNO ^ V 266).

  as a name·Lietuvių pavardžių žodynas (Dictionary of Lithuanian Surnames)

• In Swedish, Silva är lika med latinets silva ’skog’ men det kan också vara en form av → Silvia, → Sylvia eller en kortform till → Silvana.

  as a name·Förnamn i Sverige. Kortfattat namnlexikon

• In Italian, do lat. silva, selva, mata, floresta; habitante dos bosques

  as a name·Dicionário dos sobrenomes italianos

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

EC INEC — Visualizador de Nombres y Apellidos, per-token query API (1900–2024) — 125 years between 1900–2024. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Nicolás Avellanedab. 1837ARnot in their usual nameArgentinian lawyer, journalist and politician. Former president
• Marina Silvab. 1958BRBrazilian environmentalist and politician (born 1958)
• Ulisses Correia e Silvab. 1962CVCape Verdean politician
• Gilberto Silvab. 1976BRBrazilian footballer
• Thiago Silvab. 1984BRBrazilian association football player
• David Silvab. 1986ESSpanish association football player
• Martín Cáceresb. 1987UYnot in their usual nameUruguayan footballer
• Alex Sandrob. 1991BRnot in their usual nameBrazilian footballer (born 1991)
• Silas Santos Silvab. 1992BRBrazilian economist
• Bernardo Silvab. 1994PTPortuguese association football player (born 1994)

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 562 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Silva?

We estimate roughly 697 thousand people bear Silva (counting its spellings and scripts) across 10 countries in our records.

In which country does Silva have the most bearers?

Silva is most frequently recorded in Mexico, where it is most often spelled silva.

How common is Silva compared with other names?

In Mexico, Silva is the 53rd most common surname of 198,716 surnames recorded there.

What does the name Silva mean?

Recorded meaning: person who lives in a wood, from Old Spanish and Old Portuguese silva ‘wood’