Sylvester
Masculine · “Of the woods”
Sylvester is overwhelmingly a boys’ name — 43,230 boys against 627 girls since 1880. See Sylvester as a girl name
Sylvester is the Latin 'of the woods', a name with popes and saints behind it and, in America, a preacher of plain food and a cartoon cat in front. It has three solid syllables and a long, unbroken record.
How old is the name Sylvester?
Sylvester was already in use when US birth records began in 1880 — it is at least 145 years old. The typical Sylvester alive today was born around 1942, making them about 83 years old. About 18,000 people named Sylvester are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Sylvester most popular?
Sylvester peaked in 1889, reaching #126 nationally. Today it ranks #2207, 2,081 places below that high. See the whole 1889 chart.
Sylvester appears on this list:
Where it comes from
From silva to Sylvester
The story of Sylvester
Sylvester came into Christian use through a fourth-century pope and was well established in America before records began. In the 1830s the Presbyterian minister Sylvester Graham preached a strict vegetarian diet built on coarse, unsifted wheat flour, and the cracker named after him outlived almost everything else he taught. In 1945 Warner Bros. introduced Sylvester the Cat, voiced by Mel Blanc with a sloppy lisp and a habit of saying 'Sufferin' succotash!', forever chasing Tweety Bird. The spelling is recorded almost entirely for boys.
Meaning
Of the woods
From Latin silvester, 'of the forest', from silva, 'wood, forest'.
How the name formed
- silva
- silvester
- Silvester
- Sylvester
Related forms: Silvester · Silvestro · Silvestre · Sylvestre · Sylwester
Pronouncing Sylvester
sil-VES-ter
Three syllables with the stress on the second.
Nicknames for Sylvester
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
- 1880
- Most boys named
- 1918766 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #126reached in 1889
- Change vs 2022
- −9.9%64 in 2025, from 71
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.
Sylvester in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Silvester in Latin — same name
- Silvestro in Italian — same name
- Silvestre in Spanish — same name
- Sylvestre in French — same name
- Sylwester in Polish — same name
Strongest US states over the last decade: California, Texas, Florida.
Sylvesters among us
people named Sylvester are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 boy in 26,689 born in 2025 was named Sylvester
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Sylvester 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 Sylvester is headed
Sylvester should hold steady through 2030 — the curve is flat, and flat curves are the most predictable kind.
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.
Sylvester beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Sylvester in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US boys given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- A settled Latin meaning tied to the woods.
- Forms in many European languages.
- Comes with several short forms in real use.
- The cartoon cat is the first association for many children.
- It reads as an older name to many people.
- Sly as a nickname means 'cunning', which some families will avoid.
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What they receive
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Sylvester
Masculine · #2207 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Sylvesters are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 18,000 people named Sylvester are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Sylvester in 2025?
- Sylvester ranks #2207 among US boy names in 2025, with 64 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Sylvester?
- About 1 in every 26,689 US boys born in 2025 was named Sylvester — 64 in all.
- Will my child share the name Sylvester with classmates?
- Sylvester will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Sylvester
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Jaciel#2207 · Zayaan#2207 · Damarion#2207 · Raleigh#2207 · Gannon#2207 · Canon#2207 · Elam#2207 · Jaydon#2207
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Sylvester? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Sylvester and another name?
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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