Sylvie

Spellings & scripts●

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 20 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◐

Sylvie is also recorded as 2 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• English given name79K records spelled Sylvie15 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Canada, Netherlands, Germany

  Languages: English, German, Dutch

  Also written Syl-Vie, Sylvié, Sylviē

• Czech given name24K records spelled Sylvie17 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Czechia, Poland, Russia, United States

  Languages: Czech, Russian, Polish

  Also written Сильви, Silvi, Silvie, Sylvi, Silví

70 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●

Sylvie 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 French, Du latin silva « forêt »; forme féminine de Sylvain.

  as a name·Dictionnaire généalogique des prénoms

• In French, Du latin *Silvia*, « de la forêt »; sainte Sylvie.

  as a name·Dictionnaire généalogique des prénoms

• In French, Origine latine, signifie « forêt ».

  as a name·Le grand guide des prénoms (Enfant - Education)

• In French, From Latin Silvia, 'of the forest'

  as a name·Le grand guide des prénoms (Enfant - Education)

• French form of SILVIA , now also used in the English-speaking world.

  as a word

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●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 88 years between 1909–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Sylvie Vartanb. 1944BGFrench singer, chansonnier, and actress (born 1944)
• Barbara Cassinb. 1947FRnot in their usual nameFrench philologist and philosopher (born 1947)
• Sylvie Kinigib. 1952BIBurundian politician
• Sylvie Germainb. 1954FRFrench writer (born 1954)
• Joanne Harrisb. 1964GBnot in their usual nameBritish and French author
• Sylvie Goulardb. 1964FRFrench politician
• Sylvie Guillemb. 1965FRFrench dancer and choreographer
• Florence Nibart-Devouardb. 1968FRnot in their usual nameFrench open knowledge advocate, Chair of the Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees, co-founder of Wikimedia France (born 1968)
• Sylvie Testudb. 1971FRFrench actress
• Sylvie Meisb. 1978NLDutch television personality and model

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 · 675 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Sylvie?

We estimate roughly 377 thousand people bear Sylvie (counting its spellings and scripts) across 9 countries in our records.

In which country does Sylvie have the most bearers?

We estimate about 365 thousand people bear Sylvie in France, more than in any other country in our records, where it is most often spelled sylvie.

Where is Sylvie most common?

Sylvie is densest in France, where the national register counts about 1 in 186 people carrying it.

How common is Sylvie compared with other names?

In France, Sylvie is the 32nd most common given name of 711,207 given names recorded there.

Is Sylvie a male or female name?

Sylvie is a female name in our records. Opposite-gender entries fall within the cross-gender noise we measure in the source data, so we don't report them as usage.

What does the name Sylvie mean?

Recorded meaning: Sylvie peut être tantôt le nom scientifique des fauvettes ou une autre appellation de l’anémone des bois dont le rapport avec le prénom tient à l’étymologie du mot sylva , forêt en latin.