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Sylis

Masculine · “of the forest”

1998high 2013
#2230 in the U.S.given to only a few children a year
rare63 boys in 2025

Sylis respells Silas, and the Latin Silvanus behind it means of the forest — silva, a wood.

How old is the name Sylis?

Sylis first appears in US birth records in 1998 — 27 years ago. The typical Sylis is a kid of about 10 — this name's wave is very recent. About 1,000 people named Sylis are estimated to be alive in the US today.

When was the name Sylis most popular?

Sylis peaked in 2013, reaching #1733 nationally. Today it ranks #2230, 497 places below that high. See the whole 2013 chart.

Compare this nameMore “S” names

Lists built from the same records:

I

Where it comes from

The story of Sylis

Silas travels with Paul and is jailed with him at Philippi, singing hymns until an earthquake opens the doors. Silvanus was a Roman god of woodland and boundaries, invoked by farmers. Sylis is a modern American respelling and appears in the registers in current use.

Meaningscholars disagree

of the forest

Through Silas, generally a contraction of the Latin Silvanus, from silva, 'wood'. Acts identifies Silas with Silvanus, which supports the route; a derivation from the Aramaic form of Saul is also proposed. The forest reading is the commoner. The -ylis spelling is modern.

How the name formed

  1. silva
  2. Silvanus
  3. Silas
  4. Sylis

Related forms: Silas · Sylas · Silvanus

Pronouncing Sylis

SY-lis

Two syllables, stress on the first. Sylis and Silas are said identically.

Nicknames for Sylis

Moderate

SyThe front sound alone, and a name in its own right with a real record
LisThe back of the name, used inside families rather than generally
II

What the data says

The long climb, and where it stands now

BOYS NAMED · 1998–202584420846319982025

US babies named Sylis per year from 1998 to 2025
AVERAGE RANK BY DECADE#1#10#100#1000#17331990s2020s

The same years in position rather than babies

First recorded
1998
Most boys named
201384 — the highest on record
Peak rank
#1733reached in 2013
Change vs 2024
+70.3%63 in 2025, from 37
Sylis sits in the rare tail. Its best year on record was 2013, with 84 boys. Today it is given to few enough children that it does not enter the ranked charts at all.

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.

Sylis in other languages

The same name elsewhere

  • Silas in English — spelling variant
  • Sylas in English — spelling variant
  • Silvanus in Latin — related form

Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, Florida, California.

Syliss among us

1,000

people named Sylis are estimated to be alive in the US today

About 1 boy in 27,112 born in 2025 was named Sylis

Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method

Spellings of Sylis

#2230
Sylis on the 2025 chart
#850
counting every spelling

The SSA counts spellings, not names. Sylis went to 63 boys in 2025, but Cylis is the same name said out loud. Together the 2 spellings went to 78, which makes it the 850th most-given boys’ name of the year — 1,380 places above the chart.

  • Sylis63
  • Cylis15

About 1 boy in 21,898 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 27,112 for Sylis itself.

Spellings are grouped by a fixed rule that folds interchangeable English spellings of one sound (ck/k, ph/f, x/ks, a non-initial y for i) and keeps vowels apart, so Sean and Shawn stay separate names. It errs towards splitting: a family here is never larger than the truth. SSA national data, 2025. Method

III

Is it right for you

The Sandford test

Every popular name lives one long story — a climb, a peak, a slow settling back. Sylis's later chapters haven't been written yet, so we borrowed them: Sandford climbed just as high around 1947, and its whole arc is on record. Line the two peaks up, and Sandford's path sketches the road Sylis is walking now.

40%chance Sylis will feel “very 2010s” by 2040
Sylis, aligned on its peakSandford· peak 1947not yet written
#1#10#100#1000peak-30 yrs+30 yrsSandford · #3963Sylis today
Sylis today is about where Sandford stood in 1959 — 12 years past a #1733-sized peak. By 1974, Sandford had settled around #3963.
Ages quietlysteadyDates fast

Sylis 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

Where Sylis is headed

19982030

US babies named Sylis per year, 1998 to 2025, with a projection to 2030

Sylis should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.

Steady-8% by 2030projected around #2,480 in 2030

Medium confidence — fitted on official counts through 2025.

A damped-trend projection of the official birth data — a sketch of momentum, not a promise. Every name's forecast, ranked.

Sylis beside its neighbors

The names ranked closest to Sylis in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.

Sylisthis name63#2230Rayaan63#2230Damoni63#2230Earl63#2230Gene63#2230

US boys given each name in 2025.

The trade-off

Practical strengths
  • The forest meaning is concrete and pleasant.
  • Sy is available as a short form with a real record.
  • Two clean syllables with no pronunciation risk.
What to consider
  • Silas is overwhelmingly the standard spelling.
  • At least four spellings of the sound are in circulation.
  • The origin is split between Latin and Aramaic routes.

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Sylis

Masculine · #2230 in the U.S.

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Frequently asked

How many Syliss are there in the world?
No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,000 people named Sylis are estimated to be alive in the US today.
How do you spell Sylis?
Sylis is the most-used spelling in US records — 63 of the 78 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Cylis.
How popular is the name Sylis in 2025?
Sylis ranks #2230 among US boy names in 2025, with 63 babies given the name.
How rare is the name Sylis?
About 1 in every 27,112 US boys born in 2025 was named Sylis — 63 in all.
Will my child share the name Sylis with classmates?
Sylis will almost certainly be the only one in school.

Ranked beside Sylis

Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.

Rayaan#2230 · Damoni#2230 · Earl#2230 · Gene#2230 · Tyce#2230 · Vinny#2230 · Klaus#2230 · Sora#2230

Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Sylis? See the current top 100.

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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology

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