Silbestre
Of Latin origin, meaning wild or from the forest.
Name Census estimates that about 1 living Americans carry the first name Silbestre. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Silbestre today is around 63 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Silbestre births was 1927 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Silbestre. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Silbestre. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
1
~ 1 in 342,754,338 Americans
Peak year
1927
5 babies that year
Average age
63
years old
1931 SSA rank
#4,256
Tracked since 1927
Popularity
Silbestre: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Silbestre from the 1920s through to the 1930s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1930s, with 5 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Silbestre by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Silbestre during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Silbestres live
Origin
Meaning and history of Silbestre
The name Silbestre has its origins in the Latin language and can be traced back to ancient Roman times. It is derived from the Latin word "silva," which means "forest" or "woods," and the suffix "-ester," which denotes a person or thing associated with a particular place or occupation.
In its earliest form, the name was spelled as "Silvester" and was used to refer to individuals who lived in or worked in forested areas. It gained popularity during the early Christian era, particularly after the 4th century, when it was associated with Saint Silvester, who served as the Pope from 314 to 335 AD.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Silbestre can be found in the writings of the Roman historian Livy, who mentioned a Roman military commander named Silbestre Allius from the 3rd century BC. Another notable figure with this name was Silbestre Gozzolini, an Italian saint and founder of the Sylvestrines, a religious order established in the 12th century.
Throughout history, the name Silbestre has been borne by several individuals of note. One such person was Silbestre de Prierio, a 15th-century Italian Dominican friar and theologian known for his work on the Summa Summarum, a manual on moral theology. Another was Silbestre Revueltas, a renowned Mexican composer and violinist who lived from 1899 to 1940 and is celebrated for his contribution to the development of Mexican nationalist music.
In the literary world, Silbestre Bernardo, a Portuguese poet and philosopher born in 1595, gained recognition for his works exploring themes of love and spirituality. The name Silbestre was also carried by Silbestre Pinheiro Ferreira, a 19th-century Portuguese diplomat and philosopher who played a significant role in the development of modern political thought in Portugal.
Finally, one cannot overlook Silbestre Guzmán, a Spanish conquistador and explorer from the 16th century who was part of the expedition led by Hernán Cortés and participated in the conquest of Mexico. His accounts of the indigenous cultures and their way of life provide valuable historical insights into that era.
People
Silbestre + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Silbestre as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Silbestre: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Silbestre?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Silbestre going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 342,754,338 US residents.
Is Silbestre a common name?
We classify Silbestre as "Very Rare". It ranks above 3.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 10 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Silbestre most popular?
The single biggest year for Silbestre was 1927, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Silbestre is about 63 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Silbestre in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Silbestre a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Silbestre in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Silbestre still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Silbestre in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Silbestre can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people have Silbestre as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Silbestre on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.