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

Silvestri, 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 Silvestri surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Silvestri in America

Silvestri is the 7201st most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Silvestri surname appeared 4,638 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 2 people would have the surname Silvestri.

We can also compare 2010 data for Silvestri 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 Silvestri

The surname Silvestri is of Italian origin, derived from the Italian word "silvestre," meaning "wild" or "forest-dweller." It is believed to have originated in the regions of Tuscany and Lazio during the medieval period, likely as a descriptive name for someone who lived in or near a forest.

One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Silvestri can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Cavensis, a collection of documents from the Benedictine monastery of Cava de' Tirreni in Campania, dating back to the 11th century. This suggests that the name was already in use by that time.

In the 13th century, a notable figure bearing the name Silvestri was Jacobus Silvestri, a Franciscan friar and theologian from the town of Bevagna in Umbria, who lived between 1225 and 1286. He was known for his commentary on the works of Aristotle and his contributions to the development of Scholastic philosophy.

Another notable individual with the surname Silvestri was Cristoforo Silvestri, a 15th-century Florentine painter and architect. Born around 1430, he was known for his frescoes in the Basilica of Santa Maria Novella in Florence and his architectural work on the Palazzo Strozzi.

In the 16th century, Giovanni Silvestri, an Italian jurist and diplomat from Naples, served as the ambassador of the Kingdom of Naples to the Holy Roman Empire. He lived from 1490 to 1566 and played a significant role in the diplomatic affairs of his time.

During the 17th century, Camillo Silvestri, a Roman Catholic prelate and diplomat from Frascati, was appointed as the Apostolic Nuncio to France by Pope Innocent XI. He served in this role from 1679 to 1683 and contributed to the Church's diplomatic efforts during that period.

Throughout its history, the surname Silvestri has been associated with various place names in Italy, such as Silvestri di Rieti, Silvestri di Terni, and Silvestri di Perugia, indicating the regions where different branches of the family resided.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Silvestri

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

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

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

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