2000
#30,970
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 709
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.26
Rare Last name
Sylla
A habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "wooded area".
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,533 Americans carry the last name Sylla. That puts it at #13,240 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.74 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 135,316 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sylla 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 Sylla with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
2.5K
1 in 135,316
Census rank
#13,240
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.7
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.2K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,209 bearers of the surname Sylla in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.74 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 13240th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sylla, the largest self-reported group is Black at 85.3%. The next largest groups are White (8.6%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Sylla
The surname Sylla originated in Italy during the Middle Ages. It is believed to have derived from the ancient Roman name Sulla, which was a cognomen (nickname) of the Patrician Gemina family. The name Sulla has its roots in the Oscan language, spoken by the Samnites in southern Italy, and may be related to the word 'sullus' meaning 'dark' or 'swarthy'.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Sylla can be found in the historical figure Lucius Cornelius Sulla Felix, a Roman dictator and general who lived from 138 BC to 78 BC. He played a pivotal role in the Roman Republic's transformation into the Roman Empire. His cognomen 'Felix' means 'the lucky one' in Latin.
Another notable bearer of the name Sylla was the Byzantine historian and politician Nicephorus Bryennius, who lived in the late 11th and early 12th centuries. His work 'Material for History' is a valuable source for the history of the Byzantine Empire during the reign of Alexios I Komnenos.
In the 15th century, a family from the town of Montalcino in Tuscany, Italy, adopted the surname Sylla. This family produced several notable individuals, including the philosopher and theologian Carlo Sylla (1490-1558) and the Renaissance humanist and poet Paolo Sylla (1521-1589).
During the 16th century, the name Sylla was also found in France, with the French dramatist and poet Robert Garnier (1545-1590) using the pseudonym 'Sylla' for some of his works.
In the 19th century, the Italian composer and pianist Giovanni Battista Sylla (1815-1892) gained recognition for his operas and piano compositions, while the French painter and illustrator Émile Sylla (1839-1896) is known for his paintings depicting scenes from Provence and Paris.
It is worth noting that the surname Sylla has been spelled in various ways throughout history, including Silla, Syla, and Sylla. Additionally, the name has been associated with certain place names, such as the town of Silla in the province of Massa-Carrara, Italy, and the Silla mountain range in northern Portugal.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sylla
Among Census respondents with the surname Sylla, the largest self-reported group is Black at 85.3%. The next largest groups are White (8.6%) and Two or More Races (3.4%).
The bar chart below shows how Sylla 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 Sylla surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American85.3% · 1,885
- White8.6% · 189
- Two or more races3.4% · 76
- Hispanic or Latino1.6% · 35
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 22
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.1% · 2
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sylla
Sylla 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
#18,184
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,530
+821 bearers (+115.8%)
Per 100,000 0.52
Rank movement Up 12,786 places
2020
#13,240
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,209
+679 bearers (+44.4%)
Per 100,000 0.74
Rank movement Up 4,944 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #30,970 | 709 | 0.26 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #18,184 | 1,530 | 0.52 | +821 bearers (+115.8%) | Up 12,786 places |
| 2020 | #13,240 | 2,209 | 0.74 | +679 bearers (+44.4%) | Up 4,944 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 Sylla 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 | #18,184 | #13,240 | 27.2% |
| Count | 1,530 | 2,209 | 44.4% |
| Per 100K | 0.52 | 0.74 | 42.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sylla bearers went from 1,530 to 2,209 (+44.4% change). The surname moved up 4,944 positions in the national ranking, going from #18,184 to #13,240.
FAQ
Sylla surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sylla?
Name Census estimates that about 2,533 living Americans carry the surname Sylla. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 135,316 residents.
How common is Sylla?
Sylla ranks #13,240 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.74 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 2,209 people with the surname Sylla. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,533), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.74 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.74 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 Sylla.
Has Sylla become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sylla went from 1,530 recorded bearers to 2,209. That is an increase of 679 (+44.4%). In the national ranking it rose from #18,184 to #13,240.
What does the Census say about the background of Sylla?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sylla, the largest self-reported group is Black at 85.3%. The next largest groups are White (8.6%) and Two or More Races (3.4%). 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?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Sylla in the 2020 Census, accounting for 85.3% (1,885 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sylla appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (85.3%), White (8.6%), Two or More Races (3.4%). 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 Sylla (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 Sylla mean?
A habitational surname derived from a place name meaning "wooded area". 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 Sylla (0.74 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 Sylla?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people are called Sylla at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.