2000
#15,611
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,719
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.64
Rare Last name
Silvera
A Spanish and Portuguese surname referring to a person with silvery gray hair or a silversmith.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,384 Americans carry the last name Silvera. That puts it at #13,896 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.70 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 143,773 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Silvera surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
For British records, Name Census UK has a British surname profile for Silvera with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.4K
1 in 143,773
Census rank
#13,896
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.1K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,079 bearers of the surname Silvera in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.70 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13896th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Silvera, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 35.8%. The next largest groups are Black (32.5%) and White (25.9%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Silvera
The surname Silvera originated in Portugal during the medieval period. It is derived from the Latin word "silva," meaning "forest" or "woodland," combined with the suffix "-era," which indicates a place or location. This suggests that the name likely referred to someone who lived near or in a forested area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the Silvera surname can be found in the Livro Velho de Linhagens (Old Book of Lineages), a Portuguese manuscript dating back to the 13th century. This document mentions a noble family with the surname Silvera, indicating their presence in the region during that time.
Another notable historical reference is the appearance of the name Silvera in the Libro del Repartimiento de Sevilla (Book of the Distribution of Seville), a document from the 13th century that recorded the distribution of land and property in the city of Seville after its conquest by the Christian forces in 1248. Several individuals with the surname Silvera were listed as recipients of land grants in this record.
The Silvera surname has also been linked to various place names in Portugal, such as Silveira, a parish in the municipality of Torres Vedras, and Silveiras, a former parish in the municipality of Sernancelhe. These place names likely derived from the same Latin root, "silva," and may have contributed to the formation of the surname.
Notable historical figures with the surname Silvera include:
1. João Silvera (c. 1270 - c. 1330), a Portuguese nobleman and military commander who fought in the Reconquista campaigns against the Moors.
2. Afonso Silvera (c. 1400 - c. 1470), a Portuguese explorer and navigator who accompanied the early Portuguese expeditions along the West African coast.
3. Beatriz Silvera (c. 1520 - c. 1590), a Spanish-born writer and poet who lived in Portugal during the Renaissance period.
4. Diogo Silvera (c. 1580 - c. 1650), a Portuguese architect and engineer known for his work on several churches and fortifications in Goa, India.
5. Manuel Silvera (c. 1760 - c. 1830), a Spanish-born military officer who served in the Spanish colonial forces in the Americas and participated in the campaigns against the British during the American Revolutionary War.
Over time, the Silvera surname has spread to various regions, including Spain, Italy, and Latin American countries, due to migration and the expansion of the Portuguese and Spanish empires. While the name has evolved and adapted to different linguistic and cultural contexts, its origins can be traced back to the forests and woodlands of medieval Portugal.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Silvera
Among Census respondents with the surname Silvera, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 35.8%. The next largest groups are Black (32.5%) and White (25.9%).
The bar chart below shows how Silvera bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Silvera surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino35.8% · 745
- Black or African American32.5% · 675
- White25.9% · 539
- Two or more races4.4% · 91
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.1% · 22
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 7
Timeline
Historical Census data for Silvera
Silvera appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#14,363
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,082
+363 bearers (+21.1%)
Per 100,000 0.71
Rank movement Up 1,248 places
2020
#13,896
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,079
-3 bearers (-0.1%)
Per 100,000 0.70
Rank movement Up 467 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #15,611 | 1,719 | 0.64 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,363 | 2,082 | 0.71 | +363 bearers (+21.1%) | Up 1,248 places |
| 2020 | #13,896 | 2,079 | 0.70 | -3 bearers (-0.1%) | Up 467 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Silvera surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #14,363 | #13,896 | 3.3% |
| Count | 2,082 | 2,079 | -0.1% |
| Per 100K | 0.71 | 0.70 | -2.0% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Silvera bearers went from 2,082 to 2,079 (-0.1% change). The surname moved up 467 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,363 to #13,896.
FAQ
Silvera surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Silvera?
Name Census estimates that about 2,384 living Americans carry the surname Silvera. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 143,773 residents.
How common is Silvera?
Silvera ranks #13,896 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.70 per 100,000 residents, which is about 1 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 2,079 people with the surname Silvera. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,384), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.7 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.70 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 1 of them to have the surname Silvera.
Has Silvera become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Silvera went from 2,082 recorded bearers to 2,079. That is a decrease of 3 (-0.1%). In the national ranking it rose from #14,363 to #13,896.
What does the Census say about the background of Silvera?
Among Census respondents with the surname Silvera, the largest self-reported group is Hispanic at 35.8%. The next largest groups are Black (32.5%) and White (25.9%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Hispanic is the largest self-reported group for the surname Silvera in the 2020 Census, accounting for 35.8% (745 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Silvera appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Hispanic (35.8%), Black (32.5%), White (25.9%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Silvera (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Silvera mean?
A Spanish and Portuguese surname referring to a person with silvery gray hair or a silversmith. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Silvera (0.70 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many Americans have the surname Silvera?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.