Find out how popular the last name Sil is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Sil.

Sil, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Sil surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Sil in America

Sil is the 83226th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Sil surname appeared 226 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Sil.

We can also compare 2010 data for Sil to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Sil

The surname "Sil" is believed to have originated in Scandinavia, specifically in Norway and Sweden, during the medieval period. It is derived from the Old Norse word "sill," which means "herring." This suggests that the name was likely first adopted by individuals involved in the fishing or trading of herring.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name "Sil" can be found in the Diplomatarium Norvegicum, a collection of Norwegian historical documents dating back to the 12th century. In this collection, there are references to individuals with the surname "Sil" living in coastal regions of Norway, further supporting the connection to the fishing industry.

The name "Sil" also appears in the Icelandic Landnámabók, a medieval manuscript detailing the settlement of Iceland. This indicates that individuals bearing the name may have been among the early Norse settlers in Iceland, likely carrying their fishing trade with them.

In the 13th century, a prominent figure named Thorstein Sil is mentioned in the Sturlunga saga, a collection of Icelandic sagas. Thorstein Sil was a chieftain and landowner in Iceland, suggesting that the name had gained social standing by that time.

During the 16th and 17th centuries, the surname "Sil" can be found in various records and documents across Scandinavia. One notable individual was Hans Sil, a Norwegian merchant and ship-owner who lived in Bergen in the late 16th century.

In Sweden, the name "Sil" is often associated with the city of Gothenburg, where it is believed to have been introduced by Norwegian settlers in the early 17th century. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name in Sweden is that of Olof Sil, a merchant and ship-owner from Gothenburg in the mid-17th century.

Other notable individuals with the surname "Sil" include:

1. Nils Sil (1678-1745), a Swedish merchant and ship-owner active in the Baltic trade.
2. Johan Sil (1720-1792), a Norwegian sea captain and explorer who sailed to Greenland and the Arctic regions.
3. Elise Sil (1835-1908), a Norwegian author and feminist activist who wrote extensively on women's rights.
4. Gustav Sil (1875-1944), a Swedish architect known for his Art Nouveau designs in Gothenburg.
5. Arne Sil (1927-2001), a Norwegian writer and journalist who received the Riksmål Society's literature prize in 1982.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Sil

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Sil.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Sil was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Sil has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Sil was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Sil, please contact us.

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