first name
SYLVESTER
of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census
Of the 15,812 people named Sylvester, 70.3% reported their origin as Black, 16.9% as White and 7.3% as Hispanic or Latino. Virtually all are male (99.5%). These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.
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Sylvester peaked in 1920, when 819 babies got the name.
At least 43,857 babies have been given the name since 1880. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.
Sylvester by decade
Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1880s, when it ranked #385. The largest share of babies named Sylvester, 28.8%, were born between 1901 and 1927, the Greatest Generation's birth years.
Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.
Where Sylvester is most common
Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Sylvester has been most common in Mississippi (6.4×), Alabama (3.2×), and Arkansas (3.1×), and least common in Arizona (0.1×).
36,073 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.
Either side of Sylvester
Spelled almost the same
One first name in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Sylvester, most common first.
Also a last name
As a last name, Sylvester ranks #1,952 of 156,621, with 18,019 people. See Sylvester as a last name
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🔎 SYLVESTER 🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦⬜⬜ 1 in 19,101 Americans Rarer than 77.3% of us Peaked in 1920 with 819 babies Beat that 👇 https://howrareismy.name/first/sylvester/