Sylvanus

#13,654 in 2025Boys' name

Forest, through Silvanus

Sylvanus has been given to 470 babies in the U.S. since 1880. In 2025 it ranked #13,654 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 1915, with 15 recorded.

Babies named Sylvanus, 2025

1 in 663,000

Sylvanus over time, 1880–2025

Boys

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Sylvanus: meaning, origin, and history

Forest, through Silvanus

Latin

What Sylvanus means

Sylvanus belongs to the name family reached through Sylvanus → Silvanus. Its meaning is “forest”.

Origin, language, and formation

Sylvanus is used in English. Its origins include Latin.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Silvanus.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 470 boys were recorded with the name Sylvanus between 1880 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 15 in 1915; its best national rank was #847 in 1894.

Over 5 years its rank fell, from #11,846 in 2020 to #13,654 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank fell, from #9,450 in 2015 to #13,654 in 2025.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

How common is Sylvanus?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025: 1 in 663,000; 5 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only: 1 in 342,000; <0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025: #13,654; of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size: 459,581 kids; Even odds of a second one

Where Sylvanus sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%

Class of 30Under 1%

Grade of 100Under 1%

School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 459,581 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Sylvanus. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Sylvanuss were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Sylvanus was born before 1934 — so the typical Sylvanus is around 91 today.

Median birth year: 1934; About 91 years old
Biggest decade: 1920s; 20.6% of all use
Born in the last 25 years: 20.0%; Spread across generations
Recorded since 1950: 176; People you could plausibly meet

Choose a decade

1920s — 20.6% of all recorded uses (97).

Is Sylvanus rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago: −2,872; Places dropped
Rank vs 5 years ago: −1,808; Places dropped
Rank vs 10 years ago: −4,204; Places dropped
Births vs 10 years ago: 0.63×; Fewer babies than then
Share of its own peak: 33.3%; Peak was 1915 (15)
Years since peak: 110; Years
Year-to-year steadiness: Shifting; 22.4% average annual change
Best rank ever: #847; 1894

Spellings of Sylvanus

Sylvanus is not the most common spelling — Sylvan is, with 88.7% against Sylvanus's 11.3%.

Sylvan88.7%3,684
Sylvanus11.3%470

Grouped by closeness of spelling (up to two letter changes), same sex, with a floor on all-time use. It catches Sophia/Sofia and Aiden/Ayden, and misses spellings that sound alike but look different, like Sean and Shawn.

Sylvanus by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025: #13,654
Trend vs 5 yrs ago: Down 1,808
Best rank ever: #847; 1894
Peak year: 1915; 15 that year
First recorded: 1880
Last recorded: 2025
All-time count: 470
Count in 2025: 5

Names similar to Sylvanus

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

Sylvain Syler Sylvio Sylar Sylis Sylus Sylvia Sylvan Sylvestre Silvanus Sylias Marinus Sylvesta Younus Dominus Sylester Yunus Adonus Sylo Sylvin Sylas Sylvester Martinus Magnus

Sibling names for Sylvanus

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

For a sister

Leone Alpha Albina Johnie Vina Mozelle Tessie Iola

For a brother

Waldo Granville Winfield Lyman Regis Gustave Alva Dewitt

Explore around Sylvanus

Top names of 1915, Sylvanus's peak year The 1910s in full Other names that peaked in 1894 Boys' names starting with S