Sylvester
Derived from Latin silva meaning "forest", a masculine name.
Name Census estimates that about 19,194 living Americans carry the first name Sylvester. It is a predominantly male name (98.6% of registrations). The average person named Sylvester today is around 60 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Sylvester births was 1920 (819 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Sylvester. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Sylvester with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Sylvester is used almost entirely for boys, the SSA data does show 627 girls registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
19K
~ 1 in 17,857 Americans
Peak year
1920
819 babies that year
Average age
60
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,108
Tracked since 1880
Census
Sylvester in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 15,809 people with the first name Sylvester, which placed it at #1,841 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#1,841
National first-name rank
People counted
16K
15,809 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
5.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
70.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Sylvester
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sylvester is Black at 70.3%. The next largest groups are White (16.9%) and Hispanic (7.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Sylvester 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 name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Sylvester at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American70.3% · 11,118
- White16.9% · 2,672
- Hispanic or Latino7.3% · 1,152
- Two or more races2.6% · 409
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.7% · 262
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 196
Gender
Gender distribution for Sylvester
Sylvester leans heavily male at 98.6% of total registrations, but 627 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Sylvester as a male name
- Ranked #2,108 in 2024
- 71 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1920 (807 births)
Sylvester as a female name
- Ranked #10,241 in 1981
- 6 female births in 1981
- Peak: 1926 (27 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Sylvester appears almost entirely male. Of the 15,812 people counted with this name, 99.5% were male and only a very small share were female.
Popularity
Sylvester: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Sylvester from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 7,028 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Sylvester by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Sylvester during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Sylvesters live
The SSA's state-level files cover 40 states and territories. Mississippi, Georgia, Alabama recorded the most babies named Sylvester, while Washington, New Mexico, Colorado recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 901 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Sylvester
The name Sylvester is derived from the Latin word "silva" meaning "forest" and the suffix "-ester" which implies a connection or belonging to something. It was initially used as a surname to refer to someone who lived in or near a forest.
The name's origins can be traced back to ancient Rome. It was first recorded in the 3rd century AD, when it was used as a surname by a Christian family named the Silvestri. The first notable person to bear the name Sylvester was Pope Sylvester I, who reigned from 314 to 335 AD. He is remembered for consolidating the structure of the Catholic Church and establishing the primacy of the Roman See.
In the Middle Ages, the name Sylvester became popular in Europe, particularly in Italy, France, and Germany. During this period, it was often associated with the tradition of the "Holy Roman Emperor," as several emperors were named Sylvester.
One of the most famous bearers of the name was Sylvester II, born Gerbert of Aurillac in 946 AD. He was a renowned scholar, mathematician, and the first French Pope. Sylvester II is credited with introducing the use of Arabic numerals and the abacus to Europe, significantly advancing mathematics and education in the region.
Another notable figure was Sylvester Gozzolini, an Italian nobleman who lived from 1177 to 1267 AD. He founded the Sylvestrines, a Catholic religious order known for their austere way of life and dedication to poverty.
During the Renaissance, the name Sylvester gained popularity among artists and intellectuals. One of the most famous was Sylvester Calzolari, an Italian physician and naturalist who lived from 1456 to 1523 AD. He was renowned for his extensive collection of natural specimens and contributions to the study of botany and zoology.
In the 17th century, Sylvester Brouncker, an English mathematician and the first President of the Royal Society, made significant contributions to the development of calculus and the study of infinite series.
Throughout history, the name Sylvester has been associated with individuals from various fields, including religion, science, art, and literature. Its connection to the natural world and intellectual pursuits has made it a enduring and prestigious name across different cultures and time periods.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Sylvester
People
Sylvester + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Sylvester as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with S
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Sylvester: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sylvester?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 19,194 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Sylvester going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 17,857 US residents.
Is Sylvester a common name?
We classify Sylvester as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 43,792 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Sylvester most popular?
The single biggest year for Sylvester was 1920, when 819 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Sylvester is about 60 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Sylvester in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 15,809 people with the name Sylvester, or 5.23 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #1,841 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Sylvester in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Sylvester?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Sylvester appears almost entirely male. Of the 15,812 people counted with this name, 99.5% were male and only a very small share were female. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Sylvester?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Sylvester is Black at 70.3%. The next largest groups are White (16.9%) and Hispanic (7.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Sylvester most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Sylvester in the 2020 Census, accounting for 70.3% (11,118 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Sylvester in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Sylvester a male name?
Yes, 98.6% of people registered as Sylvester in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Sylvester still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Sylvester in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Sylvester can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How common is the name Sylvester?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people have the name Sylvester at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.