Given name & surname
Silvanus
“a woodland dweller”
Silvanus is used as a given name and a surname. One Latin interpretation is “a woodland dweller.”
Original GreekΣιλας
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Latin interpretation is “a woodland dweller.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Latin.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1992. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
In the Bible
In the Bible, the name Silvanus appears in Acts 15:32.
From biblical name research
Silvanus through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 44
- 44 boys · 0 girls
- Most popular year
- 2021
- 9 babies
- 2025
- 8
- #9,588 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +100%
- Rising fast
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 8 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 9,588 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 110 as a first name in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Silvanus’s family of names
Silvanus has a feminine form in Silvana. In German usage, Silvanus has a conventional equivalent in Silas. Silvanus has a related form in Silvio.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Silvanus has relatives in 7 languages. Lines run from its Latin roots to each of them.
6 related names in 7 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 16
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.
See also 4
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Silvanus
- Silvanus of the Seventywriter, also mentioned in the New Testament, may have been the same person as Silas50
- Silvanus P. ThompsonBritish academic physicist (1851-1916)
- Silvanus NjambariNamibian footballer (1974-2003)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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