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Sylus

Masculine · “of the forest”

1998high 2013
#2167 in the U.S.given to only a few children a year
rare66 boys in 2025

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

How old is the name Sylus?

Sylus first appears in US birth records in 1998 — 27 years ago. The typical Sylus is a kid of about 11 — this name's wave is very recent. About 1,200 people named Sylus are estimated to be alive in the US today.

When was the name Sylus most popular?

Sylus peaked in 2013, reaching #1733 nationally. Today it ranks #2167, 434 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 Sylus

Silas travels with Paul in Acts and is imprisoned with him at Philippi, where they sing hymns until an earthquake opens the doors. Silvanus was a Roman woodland god, and the name may be a Latinization of a Semitic original. Sylus is a modern respelling appearing in American records in current use.

Meaningscholars disagree

of the forest

Through Silas, generally a contraction of the Latin Silvanus, from silva, 'wood' or 'forest'. Acts also identifies Silas with Silvanus. A second route derives Silas from the Aramaic form of Saul. The forest reading is the commoner and the Latin is documented.

How the name formed

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

Related forms: Silas · Silvanus · Sylas

Pronouncing Sylus

SY-lus

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

Nicknames for Sylus

Moderate

SyThe front sound alone, and a short form with a real record
LusThe 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 · 1998–202584420846619982025

US babies named Sylus 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
+32.0%66 in 2025, from 50
Sylus 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.

Sylus in other languages

The same name elsewhere

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

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

Syluss among us

1,200

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

About 1 boy in 25,880 born in 2025 was named Sylus

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

Spellings of Sylus

#2167
Sylus on the 2025 chart
#820
counting every spelling

The SSA counts spellings, not names. Sylus went to 66 boys in 2025, but Cylus and Silus are the same name said out loud. Together the 3 spellings went to 108, which makes it the 820th most-given boys’ name of the year — 1,347 places above the chart.

About 1 boy in 15,816 born in 2025 was given one of these spellings — against 1 in 25,880 for Sylus 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. Sylus'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 Sylus is walking now.

40%chance Sylus will feel “very 2010s” by 2040
Sylus, aligned on its peakSandford· peak 1947not yet written
#1#10#100#1000peak-30 yrs+30 yrsSandford · #3963Sylus today
Sylus 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

Sylus 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 Sylus is headed

19982030

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

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

Steady-3% by 2030projected around #2,330 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.

Sylus beside its neighbors

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

Sylusthis name66#2167Binyomin66#2167Koby66#2167Johnathon66#2167Iver66#2167

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.
  • The origin is genuinely split between Latin and Aramaic routes.
  • The respelling will be corrected by other people constantly.

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Sylus

Masculine · #2167 in the U.S.

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Frequently asked

How many Syluss are there in the world?
No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,200 people named Sylus are estimated to be alive in the US today.
How do you spell Sylus?
Sylus is the most-used spelling in US records — 66 of the 108 babies given the name in 2025. The others recorded are Cylus and Silus.
How popular is the name Sylus in 2025?
Sylus ranks #2167 among US boy names in 2025, with 66 babies given the name.
How rare is the name Sylus?
About 1 in every 25,880 US boys born in 2025 was named Sylus — 66 in all.
Will my child share the name Sylus with classmates?
Sylus will almost certainly be the only one in school.

Ranked beside Sylus

Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.

Binyomin#2167 · Koby#2167 · Johnathon#2167 · Iver#2167 · June#2167 · Whitaker#2167 · Sir#2167 · Kipp#2167

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

Choosing between Sylus and another name?

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

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