2000
#128,797
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 122
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.05
Very Rare Last name
Silvus
A surname derived from the Latin word "silva," meaning forest or woodland.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 122 Americans carry the last name Silvus. That puts it at #152,339 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,809,462 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Silvus 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
122
1 in 2,809,462
Census rank
#152,339
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
106
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 106 bearers of the surname Silvus in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 152339th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Silvus, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
Origin
Meaning and origin of Silvus
The surname SILVUS has its origins in medieval England, dating back to the 12th century. It is believed to be derived from the Old English word "silf," meaning "wooded area" or "forest." This suggests that the name may have originally referred to someone who lived near or worked in a wooded region.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name SILVUS can be found in the Pipe Rolls of Gloucestershire from 1189, where a person named Radulfus Silvus is mentioned. These rolls were records of financial transactions kept by the English Exchequer during the reign of King Richard I.
In the 13th century, the surname SILVUS appeared in various forms, such as Silvius, Sylvius, and Selvius, reflecting the variations in spelling and pronunciation that were common during that period. One notable bearer of the name was John Silvus, a landowner in Oxfordshire who is mentioned in the Hundred Rolls of 1273.
The SILVUS surname has also been connected to certain place names in England, particularly those containing the word "wood" or "forest." For example, the village of Silverwood in Northamptonshire may have been a source of the name for some families.
During the 14th and 15th centuries, several individuals with the SILVUS surname held prominent positions in English society. One such person was Richard Silvus, a merchant and alderman of the City of London, who lived between 1325 and 1395. Another was William Silvus, a member of the English Parliament who represented the borough of Southwark in 1413.
In the 16th century, the SILVUS surname continued to be found throughout England, with several notable bearers. One was Thomas Silvus, a scholar and clergyman who served as the Rector of Wigan in Lancashire from 1537 to 1558. Another was John Silvus, a printer and publisher based in London, who was active in the mid-16th century and produced works by renowned authors such as John Foxe.
As the centuries passed, the SILVUS surname spread beyond England to other parts of the British Isles and eventually to other countries through emigration. Today, it can be found in various parts of the world, though its origins can be traced back to its medieval English roots.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Silvus
Among Census respondents with the surname Silvus, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%.
The bar chart below shows how Silvus 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 Silvus surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White100.0% · 106
Timeline
Historical Census data for Silvus
Silvus 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
#152,628
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 107
-15 bearers (-12.3%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 23,831 places
2020
#152,339
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 106
-1 bearers (-0.9%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Up 289 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #128,797 | 122 | 0.05 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #152,628 | 107 | 0.04 | -15 bearers (-12.3%) | Down 23,831 places |
| 2020 | #152,339 | 106 | 0.04 | -1 bearers (-0.9%) | Up 289 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 Silvus 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 | #152,628 | #152,339 | 0.2% |
| Count | 107 | 106 | -0.9% |
| Per 100K | 0.04 | 0.04 | -11.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Silvus bearers went from 107 to 106 (-0.9% change). The surname moved up 289 positions in the national ranking, going from #152,628 to #152,339.
FAQ
Silvus surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Silvus?
Name Census estimates that about 122 living Americans carry the surname Silvus. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,809,462 residents.
How common is Silvus?
Silvus ranks #152,339 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 106 people with the surname Silvus. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (122), 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 Silvus.
Has Silvus become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Silvus went from 107 recorded bearers to 106. That is a decrease of 1 (-0.9%). In the national ranking it rose from #152,628 to #152,339.
What does the Census say about the background of Silvus?
Among Census respondents with the surname Silvus, the largest self-reported group is White at 100.0%. 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 Silvus in the 2020 Census, accounting for 100.0% (106 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Silvus appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (100.0%). 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 Silvus (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 Silvus mean?
A surname derived from the Latin word "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 Silvus (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 surname Silvus?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.