2000
#15,710
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 1,707
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.63
Rare Last name
Sylvain
A French topographic surname referring to someone living near or in a wooded area or forest.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 2,784 Americans carry the last name Sylvain. That puts it at #12,232 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.81 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 123,116 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Sylvain 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
2.8K
1 in 123,116
Census rank
#12,232
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.8
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
2.4K
rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 2,428 bearers of the surname Sylvain in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.81 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 12232nd position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Sylvain, the largest self-reported group is Black at 60.8%. The next largest groups are White (31.4%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sylvain
Among Census respondents with the surname Sylvain, the largest self-reported group is Black at 60.8%. The next largest groups are White (31.4%) and Two or More Races (3.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Sylvain 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 Sylvain surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American60.8% · 1,476
- White31.4% · 763
- Two or more races3.7% · 89
- Hispanic or Latino3.3% · 79
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.7% · 17
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.2% · 4
Timeline
Historical Census data for Sylvain
Sylvain 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
#14,050
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,143
+436 bearers (+25.5%)
Per 100,000 0.73
Rank movement Up 1,660 places
2020
#12,232
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 2,428
+285 bearers (+13.3%)
Per 100,000 0.81
Rank movement Up 1,818 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #15,710 | 1,707 | 0.63 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #14,050 | 2,143 | 0.73 | +436 bearers (+25.5%) | Up 1,660 places |
| 2020 | #12,232 | 2,428 | 0.81 | +285 bearers (+13.3%) | Up 1,818 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 Sylvain 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 | #14,050 | #12,232 | 12.9% |
| Count | 2,143 | 2,428 | 13.3% |
| Per 100K | 0.73 | 0.81 | 11.3% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Sylvain bearers went from 2,143 to 2,428 (+13.3% change). The surname moved up 1,818 positions in the national ranking, going from #14,050 to #12,232.
FAQ
Sylvain surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Sylvain?
Name Census estimates that about 2,784 living Americans carry the surname Sylvain. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 123,116 residents.
How common is Sylvain?
Sylvain ranks #12,232 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.81 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 2,428 people with the surname Sylvain. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (2,784), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.81 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.81 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 Sylvain.
Has Sylvain become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Sylvain went from 2,143 recorded bearers to 2,428. That is an increase of 285 (+13.3%). In the national ranking it rose from #14,050 to #12,232.
What does the Census say about the background of Sylvain?
Among Census respondents with the surname Sylvain, the largest self-reported group is Black at 60.8%. The next largest groups are White (31.4%) and Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Sylvain in the 2020 Census, accounting for 60.8% (1,476 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Sylvain appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (60.8%), White (31.4%), Two or More Races (3.7%). 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 Sylvain (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 Sylvain mean?
A French topographic surname referring to someone living near or in a wooded area or forest. 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 Sylvain (0.81 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 share the surname Sylvain?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.