Silvia - Origin and Meaning of the name

[ 3 syll. sil-via, si-lv-ia ] The girl name Silvia is pronounced SIHLViyah ^KEY. Silvia is of Latin origin. It is used mainly in English, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish. The name Silvia means 'woman of the woods'. Derived from the word silva with the meaning 'wood, forest'. The name was borne in Roman mythology by Rhea Silvia the mother of the legendary founders of Rome, the twins Romulus and Remus. The name was later borne by the mother of Pope Gregory the Great, who was herself a saint. The name has traditionally been used as Italian name, and it was later introduced to English speakers, promoted via various works such as the Shakespeare comedy Two Gentlemen of Verona (1592-1593) and William Congreve's The Old Bachelor (1693). The name saw a revival among English speakers in the 19th century. Silvia is the feminine form of the German Silvius.

Silvia has 24 forms that are used in both English and foreign languages. English forms of the name include Silva (also used in Scandinavian), Silvana (also used in German, Italian, and Spanish), Silvestra, Slyvia, Sylva, Sylvana, Sylviane, and Zilvia. Other English forms include the short forms Silvi and Syl, and the spelling variant Sylvia (also used in German, Italian, and Scandinavian).

Forms of Silvia used in foreign languages include the Hawaiian Silivia, the Romanian Silvea, the Spanish Silveria, the German, Italian, and Romanian Silviana, the French Silvie, the Romanian Silviea, the Slavic Silvija, the Spanish Silvina, the Scandinavian Sylvi, the French Sylvie, the French Sylvine, and the Polish Sylwia. The pet form Sile (German) is another foreign variant.

Silvia is a spelling variant of the English, German, Italian, and Scandinavian Sylvia in the English, German, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish languages.

Silvia is unusual as a baby girl name. Its usage peaked modestly in 1974 with 0.023% of baby girls being named Silvia. It had a ranking of #497 then. The baby name has fallen out of favor since then, and is of only irregular use today. Among the family of girl names directly related to Silvia, the English, German, Italian, and Scandinavian Sylvia was the most commonly used in 2008.

Baby names that sound like Silvia include the Romanian Silvea, the English, German, Italian, and Scandinavian Sylvia, the German and Italian Salvia, the Slavic Silvija, the English Slyvia, the English Schelby, the English Selby, the English Shelba, the English Shelbey, the English Shelbi, the English Shelbie, the English Shelby, the English Shellby, the Hawaiian Silivia, the English and Scandinavian Silva, the English Silvi, the French Silvie, the Romanian Silviea, the English Sylva, and the Scandinavian Sylvi.

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