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

Silba, 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 Silba surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Silba in America

Silba is the 45347th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Silba surname appeared 472 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 Silba.

We can also compare 2010 data for Silba 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 Silba

The surname Silba has its origins in central Europe, specifically in the region of modern-day Croatia and Slovenia. It is believed to have emerged sometime during the Middle Ages, between the 12th and 14th centuries.

The name Silba is thought to be derived from the Slavic word "silba," which means "a whistle" or "a whistling sound." This could suggest that the original bearer of the name may have been a person associated with whistling, such as a musician or a bird-catcher. Alternatively, it could have been a descriptive name referring to someone with a distinctive whistling voice or manner of speech.

One of the earliest recorded mentions of the surname Silba can be found in a Croatian census record from the late 15th century, where a man named Ivan Silba is listed as a resident of the town of Trogir. The name also appears in various church records and property deeds from the region during the 16th and 17th centuries.

In the late 18th century, a notable figure bearing the Silba surname was Jure Silba, a Croatian writer and philosopher born in 1758 in the city of Split. He authored several works on metaphysics and ethics during the Enlightenment period.

Another prominent individual with the Silba surname was Antun Silba, a Croatian painter and sculptor who lived from 1839 to 1911. He is best known for his religious artwork and sculptures adorning churches throughout Dalmatia.

In the 20th century, a notable bearer of the Silba name was Mate Silba (1906-1992), a Croatian playwright and novelist. His works often explored themes of rural life and the struggles of the working class.

Moving to Slovenia, the Silba surname can be traced back to the 16th century, with records showing a family by that name residing in the village of Kranj. One notable Slovenian figure with the Silba surname was Jožef Silba (1839-1908), a lawyer and politician who served as a member of the Carniolan Provincial Diet in the late 19th century.

While the Silba surname is most commonly found in Croatia and Slovenia, it has also spread to other parts of the world through migration and diaspora communities. However, its roots and earliest recorded instances can be traced back to the Slavic regions of central Europe, where it likely originated as a descriptive or occupational surname many centuries ago.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Silba

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

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 Silba 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 Silba 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 Silba was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

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

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