2010
#142,108
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 117
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Silviera
A Portuguese surname derived from "silva" meaning forest or woodland.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 138 Americans carry the last name Silviera. That puts it at #142,049 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,483,727 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Silviera 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.
Bearers in the US
138
1 in 2,483,727
Census rank
#142,049
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
120
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 120 bearers of the surname Silviera in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 142049th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Silviera, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (18.3%) and Black (2.5%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Silviera
The surname SILVIERA originated in Portugal in the 12th century. It is derived from the Latin word "silva" meaning forest or woodland, and is believed to have been initially used as a descriptive name for someone who lived near or worked in a forested area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name SILVIERA can be found in a Portuguese manuscript dated 1287, which mentions a landowner named Joao SILVIERA. This suggests that by the late 13th century, the name had become an established surname passed down within families.
In the 14th century, the name SILVIERA appeared in various records across different regions of Portugal, indicating the widespread adoption of the surname by that time. For example, a document from 1342 references a merchant named Pedro SILVIERA operating in the city of Porto.
The SILVIERA surname is also linked to several place names in Portugal, such as Silveira in the district of Lisbon, and Silveiras in the district of Coimbra. These place names likely originated from the same Latin root as the surname, indicating the presence of forests or woodlands in those areas.
Notable individuals with the surname SILVIERA throughout history include:
1. Miguel SILVIERA (1528-1597), a Portuguese explorer and navigator who participated in several expeditions to the Americas and Africa.
2. Manoel SILVIERA (1672-1738), a prominent Portuguese architect known for his work on several churches and palaces in Lisbon and other cities.
3. Joao SILVIERA (1782-1856), a Portuguese military officer who served in the Napoleonic Wars and later became a governor in Brazil.
4. Mariana SILVIERA (1819-1892), a celebrated Portuguese writer and poet whose works were widely published during the Romantic period.
5. Antonio SILVIERA (1903-1987), a influential Portuguese painter and sculptor whose works were exhibited in galleries across Europe and the Americas.
While the SILVIERA surname has its roots in Portugal, it has since spread to other parts of the world, particularly through Portuguese colonization and migration. However, the earliest recorded instances and historical associations of the name can be traced back to the forests and woodlands of medieval Portugal.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Silviera
Among Census respondents with the surname Silviera, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (18.3%) and Black (2.5%).
The bar chart below shows how Silviera 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 Silviera surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White74.2% · 89
- Hispanic or Latino18.3% · 22
- Black or African American2.5% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.5% · 3
- Two or more races2.5% · 3
Timeline
Historical Census data for Silviera
Silviera appears in 2 published Census surname files: 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2020
#142,049
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 120
+3 bearers (+2.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 59 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | #142,108 | 117 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2020 | #142,049 | 120 | 0.04 | +3 bearers (+2.6%) | Up 59 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 Silviera 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 | #142,108 | #142,049 | 0.0% |
| Count | 117 | 120 | 2.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | 0.4% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Silviera bearers went from 117 to 120 (+2.6% change). The surname moved up 59 positions in the national ranking, going from #142,108 to #142,049.
FAQ
Silviera surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Silviera?
Name Census estimates that about 138 living Americans carry the surname Silviera. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,483,727 residents.
How common is Silviera?
Silviera ranks #142,049 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 120 people with the surname Silviera. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (138), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Silviera.
Has Silviera become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Silviera went from 117 recorded bearers to 120. That is an increase of 3 (+2.6%). In the national ranking it rose from #142,108 to #142,049.
What does the Census say about the background of Silviera?
Among Census respondents with the surname Silviera, the largest self-reported group is White at 74.2%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (18.3%) and Black (2.5%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Silviera in the 2020 Census, accounting for 74.2% (89 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Silviera appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (74.2%), Hispanic (18.3%), Black (2.5%). 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 Silviera (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 Silviera mean?
A Portuguese surname derived from "silva" meaning forest or woodland. 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 Silviera (0.04 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 people have the last name Silviera?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans have the surname Silviera on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.