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

Sylva, 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 Sylva surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Sylva in America

Sylva is the 15864th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Sylva surname appeared 1,834 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 1 people would have the surname Sylva.

We can also compare 2010 data for Sylva 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 Sylva

The surname Sylva is believed to have originated in Portugal, with the earliest known references dating back to the 13th century. It is thought to be derived from the Latin word "silva," meaning "forest" or "woods." This suggests that the name may have initially been given to someone who lived near or worked in a forested area.

In the late 13th century, records show a nobleman named Alvaro Gonçalves da Sylva living in the northern region of Portugal. This is one of the earliest documented instances of the Sylva surname appearing in historical records. During this period, variations in spelling, such as "Silva" and "Sylva," were common due to inconsistencies in record-keeping and regional dialects.

The Sylva name gained prominence in the 15th century, with the rise of the influential Sylva family in the Portuguese court. Notable members of this family include João da Sylva, a renowned diplomat who served as ambassador to several European courts in the mid-1400s, and Pedro da Sylva, a military commander who played a key role in the Portuguese conquest of Ceuta in 1415.

As the Portuguese empire expanded, the Sylva name spread to various colonies and territories. In the 16th century, Francisco da Sylva Meneses was a prominent figure in the colonization of Brazil, serving as the first Captain-General of Rio de Janeiro from 1567 to 1572. Another notable bearer of the name was Miguel da Sylva, a Jesuit missionary who traveled to Japan in the late 16th century and was instrumental in the early spread of Christianity in the region.

In the 17th century, the Sylva name appears in records from Spain and Italy, likely due to the close ties between these nations and Portugal during that time. One notable figure was Diego de Sylva Velázquez, a Spanish painter who served as the leading court painter for King Philip IV of Spain and is renowned for his masterpiece "Las Meninas" (1656).

As the centuries progressed, the Sylva surname continued to spread across Europe and beyond. In the 19th century, José da Sylva Carvalho was a notable Portuguese politician and writer who played a significant role in the Liberal Revolution of 1820. More recently, in the 20th century, Viriato da Sylva was a renowned Portuguese sculptor whose works are displayed in museums and public spaces across Portugal.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Sylva

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

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

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

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