Given name & surname
Silvan
“a woodland dweller”
Silvan is a variant of Silvanus. One Latin interpretation is “a woodland dweller.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
Silvan is a variant of Silvanus. One Latin interpretation is “a woodland dweller.”
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
Silvan is a variant of Silvanus. An origin associated with Silvanus is Latin.
Explained through its name family
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1926. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Silvan through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 102
- 102 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2024
- 12 babies
- 2025
- 10
- #8,157 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +23%
- Rising
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 10 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 8,157 among boys’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 238 as a first name in 2020; 387 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Silvan’s family of names
In Occitan usage, Silvan has a conventional equivalent in the French form Sylvain. Silvan has a related form in Silvanus. In Occitan usage, Silvan has a conventional equivalent in the English form Silvanus.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 3
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 5
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Silvan
- Silvan WidmerSwiss association football player (born 1993)
- Silvan ShalomIsraeli politicianborn 1958
- Silvan ZurbriggenSwiss alpine skierborn 1981
- Silvan DillierSwiss cyclistborn 1990
- Silvan HeftiSwiss association football playerborn 1997
- Silvan AegerterSwiss footballerborn 1980
- Silvan SidlerSwiss association football playerborn 1998
- Silvan TomkinsAmerican psychologist (1911-1991)
- Silvan S. SchweberAmerican physicist (1928-2017)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Silvan, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Sullivan
“having dark eyes”
91% boys · 9% girls
Sylas
“a woodland dweller”
99% boys · 1% girls
Cyrus
“a king”
99% boys · 1% girls
Samson
“sun man”
>99% boys
Soren
“one who is strict; stern”
94% boys · 6% girls
Kieran
“having dark features; the little dark one”
97% boys · 3% girls
Silas
“a woodland dweller”
>99% boys
Callan
“one who is powerful in battle” · “a talkative woman”
95% boys · 5% girls