Sylar
Masculine
Sylar is given to both — 824 boys and 57 girls since 1880. See other names given to both
Sylar is a television villain. The character on Heroes, which ran from 2006, kills people to take their abilities, and American parents nonetheless began using the name in numbers within three years; its best year is 2009, at the end of the series.
How old is the name Sylar?
Sylar first appears in US birth records in 2006 — 19 years ago. The typical Sylar is a kid of about 12 — this name's wave is very recent. About 800 people named Sylar are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Sylar most popular?
Sylar peaked in 2009, reaching #1708 nationally. Today it ranks #6803, 5,095 places below that high. See the whole 2009 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
Origin, sound and short forms
Our story of Sylar
Names from television usually come from sympathetic characters, and this one does not. What appears to have happened is that the sound did most of the work: Sylar sits one letter from Skylar, which was already an extremely popular American name, and it fits the -ar ending family alongside Ryder and Asher. A viewer who liked the sound could take it without taking the character, and a parent who had never seen the program could take it as a variant of Skylar. That is how a villain's name enters general use without anyone deciding to honor a villain. The show ran from 2006 to 2010, and the name's American curve rises and falls with it almost exactly.
Meaningnot established
Not established
The name was invented for the character and has no etymology; the show's own account has him taking it from a brand of watch. In American use it also functions as a respelling of Skylar, itself from the Dutch surname Schuyler, a scholar, so some bearers arrive by that route instead. Neither carries a meaning into this spelling.
Pronouncing Sylar
SY-lar
Two syllables with the stress on the first and a long i. Identical to Skylar with the k removed.
Nicknames for Sylar
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 2006
- Most boys named
- 200991 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1708reached in 2009
- Change vs 2024
- +9.1%12 in 2025, from 11
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Sylar in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Skylar in English — related form
- Syler in English — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: Washington, Pennsylvania, California.
Sylars among us
people named Sylar are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 142,340 born in 2025 was named Sylar
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
The Shaine test
Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Sylar's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Shaine climbed just as high around 1987, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Shaine's path sketches the road Sylar is walking now.
Sylar sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Sylar beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Sylar in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Short, easy to spell and immediately readable from the page.
- Sy and Sky are both usable short forms.
- Sits comfortably beside Skylar, Tyler and Ryder in sound.
- The television character it comes from is a serial killer.
- Skylar is far more common and will be written instead.
- The name has no meaning of its own to pass on.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Sylar to the vote.
Add it to a family vote or a couple’s swipe deck — the other person gets one card, a simple answer and room to say why. No app, no account for them.
Only the people you invite can see your list.
Already decided on Sylar? Hide it among decoys and let them guess.
What they receive
Someone added a name to your list
Sylar
Masculine · #6803 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Sylars are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 800 people named Sylar are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Sylar in 2025?
- Sylar ranks #6803 among US boy names in 2025, with 12 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Sylar?
- About 1 in every 142,340 US boys born in 2025 was named Sylar — 12 in all.
- Will my child share the name Sylar with classmates?
- Sylar will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Sylar
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Zeb#6803 · Buster#6803 · Fabien#6803 · Eston#6803 · Tyjuan#6803 · Fuad#6803 · Aaiden#6803 · Sanford#6803
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Sylar? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Sylar and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
Compare side by sideIn a hurry? Just pick a winner — one tap, no sign-up, and you see how everyone else voted.
Weighing a whole shortlist? Add the rest in the builder, or settle it with a bracket.
Cast your vote
Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
No advertising trackers and no data sellinghow we handle your dataindependent and founder-run, about Name Battle