Sylvia - name meaning, origin

The girl's name Sylvia \s(y)-

is pronounced SIL-vee-ah. It is of Latin origin, and its meaning is "woods, forest". The Latin form Silvia was more popular for centuries until recently. Rhea Silvia was an ancient nature goddess, mother to the twin founders of Rome, Romulus and Remus. Shakespeare used the name Silvia for the love interest in his play "Two Gentlemen of Verona", probably intending to give the impression of a typical Italian girl though the name has come to be regarded as an English name.

Sylvia has 23 variant forms: Silva, Silvaine, Silvana, Silvania, Silvanna, Silvia, Silviana, Silvianne, Silvie, Sylva, Sylvana, Sylvanna, Sylvee, Sylvette, Sylviana, Sylvianne, Sylvie, Sylvina, Sylvine, Sylvonna, Sylwia, Zilvia and Zylvia.

For more information, see also the related name Xylia.

Baby names that sound like Sylvia are Salvia, Sallvia, Silvya and Silvi.

Sylvia is a very common first name for women (#120 out of 4276) and also a very common last name for both men and women (#5977 out of 88799). (1990 U.S. Census)

Displayed below is the baby name popularity trend for the girl name Sylvia. Compare Sylvia with its variant forms and related girl names.

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