Sylvester is a boy name with a classic feel, drawn from real birth records. Below you'll find what Sylvester means and where it comes from, plus how many babies have been named Sylvester across the United States, UK, Ireland and New Zealand, how popular Sylvester has been over the decades, and the year it peaked.
Sylvester is a boy name of Latin origin meaning “of the forest, wooded”. From Latin silvestris.
| Country | Births on record |
|---|---|
| United States since 1880 | 43,857 births |
| England & Wales since 1996 | 217 births |
| Ireland since 1964 | 117 births |
Counts come from official national birth-registration statistics: U.S. Social Security Administration, England & Wales (Office for National Statistics), Scotland (National Records of Scotland), Northern Ireland (NISRA), Ireland (Central Statistics Office) and New Zealand (Dept. of Internal Affairs). Coverage spans differ, so totals aren't directly comparable across countries.
Babies named Sylvester per year, United States (1880 to 2025). United States peaked in 1920 (819/yr) · England & Wales peaked in 2023 (18/yr) · Ireland peaked in 1965 (12/yr).
Sylvester has been a fairly common baby name in the United States. It was most common in 1920, when it ranked #402 nationally (given to 819 babies that year).
Silvester · Silvestre · Silvestra · Slyvester · Silvestro · Sylvestre
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