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

Silvester, 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 Silvester surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Silvester in America

Silvester is the 22194th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Silvester surname appeared 1,163 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 Silvester.

We can also compare 2010 data for Silvester 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 Silvester

The surname Silvester is of Latin origin and is derived from the name Silvester, which means "of the forest" or "woodsy". This name has its roots in ancient Rome and can be traced back to the time of the Roman Empire.

The earliest known reference to the name Silvester can be found in the Codex Theodosianus, a collection of Roman laws compiled in the 5th century AD. In this codex, there is a mention of a man named Silvester who held a high-ranking position in the Roman bureaucracy.

During the Middle Ages, the name Silvester was relatively common among the nobility and the clergy in various parts of Europe. One notable figure who bore this name was Pope Silvester II, born as Gerbert of Aurillac in 945 AD. He was a renowned scholar and is credited with introducing Arabic numerals to Europe.

In England, the name Silvester appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, which was a survey of land ownership and taxation commissioned by William the Conqueror. The book mentions several individuals with the name Silvester, indicating that it was already in use among the English population at that time.

In the 13th century, a prominent figure named Silvester Giraldus, also known as Gerald of Wales, was a noted cleric, historian, and author. He is best known for his works describing the geography, history, and people of Wales.

Another notable individual with the surname Silvester was Victor Silvester, a British ballroom dancer, and dance instructor who lived from 1900 to 1978. He was instrumental in popularizing ballroom dancing in the United Kingdom and authored several books on the subject.

The name Silvester has also been associated with various place names throughout Europe. For instance, there is a town called Silvester in Austria, and there are several villages with similar names in Germany, such as Silvesterhausen and Silberhausen.

Over time, the name Silvester has undergone various spelling variations, including Silvester, Sylvester, and Silvestre. These variations can be found in historical records from different regions of Europe, reflecting the diversity of linguistic and cultural influences on the name.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Silvester

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

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

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

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