home > boy names > silas

Silas - Origin and Meaning of the name

Meaning of the name Silas

[ 2 syll. si-las, sil-as ] The boy name Silas is pronounced as SAYLahS KEY. Silas is used predominantly in the English language and its origin is Latin. The name is of the meaning man of the woods. Biblical name derived from the element 'silva' which means wood, forest. Silouanus (Old Greek), Silvanus (Latin), and Silvianus (Latin) are old forms of Silas. The name was originally used as a nickname for someone living in the woods, or else someone whose job involved working with wood. The name appeared in Roman mythology as Silvanus, the spirit or god of the trees. In the Bible, it was borne by a prophet and companion of the apostle Paul and Timothy. The name was also borne by several early saints, and was adopted by English Puritans in the 17th century. In literature, the name appeared as the miserly weaver in the George Eliot novel Silas Marner (1861), and as the villian in the Sheridan Le Fanu novel Uncle Silas (1864). The name Silvana (German, Italian, English, and Spanish) is the female version of Silas.

Silvain (English and French), Silvan (German and Slavic), Silvano (Italian and Spanish), Silvanus (English), Silvian (German), Silviano (Italian and Spanish), Sylvain (English and French), and Sylvester (English) are variants of Silas. See also the related form, Silvius (German).

Silas is a fairly popular baby name for boys, and it is also viewed as trendy. The name's popularity has been rising since the 1960s. At the modest peak of its usage in 2008, 0.049% of baby boys were given the name Silas. Its ranking then was #313. Out of all boy names in its group, Silas was the most frequently used in 2008.

Baby names that sound like Silas include Silko (German), Celso (Italian), Slawek (Polish), Ceallach (Irish), and Cecilius (Dutch).

KEY: Pronunciation for Silas: S as in "sea (S.IY)" ; AY as in "hide (HH.AY.D)" ; L as in "lee (L.IY)" ; AH as in "hut (HH.AH.T)" ; S as in "sea (S.IY)"


 
Popularity Trend
for Silas
from 1900 to 2008
Variant Popularity Chart
for Silas
in 2008
 

Meaning of Silas Meaning of Sylvester Meaning of Sylvain Meaning of Silviano Meaning of Silvian Meaning of Silvanus Meaning of Silvano Meaning of Silvan Meaning of Silvius Meaning of Silvain Meaning of Silvana Meaning of Syl Meaning of Silvester Meaning of Sly Meaning of Syl Meaning of Silvia