About the name Sylvia
Sylvia grows out of the Latin silva, forest, and Rhea Silvia was the legendary mother of Rome's founding twins. Plath's shadow is long, but the name itself is older, greener and considerably less doomed than that association suggests.
Sylvia is a girl name of Latin origin, pronounced SIL-vee-ah. On the NameRarity scale it scores 62 out of 100, which places it in the rare band — recognisable but seldom used. Distinctive without needing to be spelled out twice. Its strongest period was the 1930s.
Name facts at a glance
How popular is Sylvia?
Sylvia currently falls outside the US top 1,000, which is a large part of why it scores so highly for rarity. Roughly 33 people per million carry it — about 1 in 30,303. In a school of 1,000 pupils you would expect not to find a single one.
Famous people named Sylvia
- Sylvia PlathAmerican poet and novelist
- Sylvia EarleAmerican marine biologist and oceanographer
Spellings and variants of Sylvia
Names similar to Sylvia
Beatrix
BEE-ah-triks
Voyager, bringer of joy
Octavia
ok-TAY-vee-ah
Eighth
Silas
SY-lus
Of the forest, woodland
Stella
STELL-ah
Star
Trinity
TRIN-ih-tee
Three, a triad
Zinnia
ZIN-ee-ah
Zinnia flower
Cecilia
seh-SEEL-yah
Blind, from the Roman family name Caecilius
Diana
dy-AN-ah
Divine, heavenly
Sylvia — frequently asked questions
What does the name Sylvia mean?
Sylvia means "From the forest". It is a name of Latin origin, most often given to a girl.
How do you pronounce Sylvia?
Sylvia is pronounced SIL-vee-ah, with 2 syllables.
How rare is the name Sylvia?
Sylvia scores 62 out of 100 on the NameRarity scale, which makes it rare. Roughly 1 in every 30,303 people carry it — about 33 per million.
What is the numerology number for Sylvia?
Sylvia carries the expression number 7, known as The Seeker. Its soul urge number is 1 and its personality number is 6.
What is the lucky number and lucky colour for Sylvia?
The lucky number for Sylvia is 7 (with 16, 25, 34 also favourable), and its lucky colour is Deep Violet. The traditional lucky day is Monday and the associated gemstone is Sapphire.