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

Sylvain, 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 Sylvain surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Sylvain in America

Sylvain is the 14050th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Sylvain surname appeared 2,143 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 Sylvain.

We can also compare 2010 data for Sylvain 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 Sylvain

The surname SYLVAIN originated in France and has been present since the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Latin name Silvanus, which was the name of the Roman god of forests and woods. The name SYLVAIN likely referred to someone who lived near or worked in a forest or wooded area.

One of the earliest recorded examples of the surname SYLVAIN can be found in the Cartulaire de l'Abbaye de Saint-Père de Chartres, a 12th-century manuscript from the Abbey of Saint-Père in Chartres, France. The name is also mentioned in the Registres de la Noblesse de Normandie, a 16th-century record of the nobility of Normandy.

The surname SYLVAIN has been associated with several notable individuals throughout history. Jacques Sylvain (1596-1675) was a French philosopher and writer who was a proponent of libertine thought. Jean-François Sylvain (1721-1801) was a French playwright and librettist who wrote several operas and comedies.

In the 19th century, Gérard Sylvain (1818-1891) was a French artist and painter known for his landscapes and genre scenes. Henri Sylvain (1834-1907) was a French botanist and explorer who collected plant specimens in Central and South America.

More recently, Renée Sylvain (1897-1983) was a French actress and singer who appeared in several films and stage productions during the early 20th century.

The surname SYLVAIN has also been associated with various place names and older spellings of place names. For example, the village of Sylvains in the Puy-de-Dôme department of France likely derives its name from the surname. Similarly, the Bois de Sylvain in the Somme department of France may have been named after an individual with the surname SYLVAIN.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Sylvain

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

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

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

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