2000
#1,489
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 21,956
First available Census row
Per 100,000 8.14
Uncommon Last name
Silver
An English occupational surname referring to a silversmith or a person who sells or works with silver.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 24,316 Americans carry the last name Silver. That puts it at #1,651 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 7.09 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 14,096 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Silver 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 Silver with 1881 census detail, origin facts and modern UK distribution where available.
Bearers in the US
24K
1 in 14,096
Census rank
#1,651
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
7.1
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
21K
uncommon in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 21,205 bearers of the surname Silver in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 7.09 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 1651st position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Silver, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.3%. The next largest groups are Black (11.1%) and Hispanic (4.7%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of Silver
The surname Silver originates from England and dates back to the late 12th century. It is a locational name derived from places called Silver, such as Silver Street in London or the village of Silver in Suffolk. These place names likely refer to areas where silver was mined, traded, or where silversmiths worked.
The name Silver is believed to have been first recorded in the Pipe Rolls of Staffordshire in 1199, where a Randulph de Sylvere was mentioned. In the Hundred Rolls of 1273, a William de Silvere from Oxfordshire was listed. The variant spelling Silvere was common in early records.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name was John Silver, a prominent merchant and alderman in London during the 14th century. He was mentioned in various city records and served as the Sheriff of London in 1386.
Another notable bearer of the name was Sir Bartholomew Silver, a wealthy landowner and member of Parliament for Hertfordshire in the early 15th century. He was born around 1380 and died in 1451.
During the 16th century, the Silver family established themselves as wealthy merchants and landowners in Suffolk. William Silver (1492-1558) was a successful wool merchant and served as Mayor of Ipswich in 1542.
In the literary world, Thomas Silver (1570-1616) was an English poet and playwright who was part of the literary circle around William Shakespeare. His works include the play "Paradoxes of Honour and Love" and several poems.
Not to be overlooked is the infamous pirate Captain Silver from Robert Louis Stevenson's classic novel "Treasure Island" published in 1883. While a fictional character, the name has become synonymous with piracy and adventure.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Silver
Among Census respondents with the surname Silver, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.3%. The next largest groups are Black (11.1%) and Hispanic (4.7%).
The bar chart below shows how Silver 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 Silver surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White77.3% · 16,392
- Black or African American11.1% · 2,359
- Hispanic or Latino4.7% · 990
- Two or more races4.0% · 848
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.9% · 395
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 221
Timeline
Historical Census data for Silver
Silver 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
#1,632
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 22,052
+96 bearers (+0.4%)
Per 100,000 7.48
Rank movement Down 143 places
2020
#1,651
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 21,205
-847 bearers (-3.8%)
Per 100,000 7.09
Rank movement Down 19 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #1,489 | 21,956 | 8.14 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #1,632 | 22,052 | 7.48 | +96 bearers (+0.4%) | Down 143 places |
| 2020 | #1,651 | 21,205 | 7.09 | -847 bearers (-3.8%) | Down 19 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 Silver 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 | #1,632 | #1,651 | -1.2% |
| Count | 22,052 | 21,205 | -3.8% |
| Per 100K | 7.48 | 7.09 | -5.2% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Silver bearers went from 22,052 to 21,205 (-3.8% change). The surname moved down 19 positions in the national ranking, going from #1,632 to #1,651.
Notable bearers
Famous people with the surname Silver
FAQ
Silver surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Silver?
Name Census estimates that about 24,316 living Americans carry the surname Silver. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 14,096 residents.
How common is Silver?
Silver ranks #1,651 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Uncommon." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 7.09 per 100,000 residents, which is about 7 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 21,205 people with the surname Silver. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (24,316), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 7.09 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 7.09 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 7 of them to have the surname Silver.
Has Silver become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Silver went from 22,052 recorded bearers to 21,205. That is a decrease of 847 (-3.8%). In the national ranking it fell from #1,632 to #1,651.
What does the Census say about the background of Silver?
Among Census respondents with the surname Silver, the largest self-reported group is White at 77.3%. The next largest groups are Black (11.1%) and Hispanic (4.7%). 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?
White is the largest self-reported group for the surname Silver in the 2020 Census, accounting for 77.3% (16,392 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Silver appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are White (77.3%), Black (11.1%), Hispanic (4.7%). 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 Silver (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 Silver mean?
An English occupational surname referring to a silversmith or a person who sells or works with silver. 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 Silver (7.09 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 Silver?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many Americans have the surname Silver at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.