How rare is the name Sylvia?

152,900 people in the United States have the first name Sylvia, about 1 in 1,975. It ranks #364 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census.

first name

SYLVIA

#364

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
152,900
About
1 in 1,975
This common or more
52.5%
Who bears it

Of the 152,900 people named Sylvia, 46.6% reported their origin as White, 31.9% as Hispanic or Latino and 15.6% as Black. Virtually all are female (99.9%). These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Sylvia peaked in 1937, when 4,389 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
18802025
Peak year
1937
Births that year
4,389
In 2025*
1,017 ▼77%
Recorded as
almost entirely female

At least 245,978 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.

Sylvia by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1910s, when it ranked #118. The largest share of babies named Sylvia, 29.6%, were born during the baby boom (1946–1964).

1880s#2921,109
1890s#2083,025
1900s#1595,570
1910s#11825,729
1920s#17726,965
1930s#13833,175
1940s#16037,422
1950s#20139,656
1960s#25728,750
1970s#39312,682
1980s#5199,401
1990s#7856,400
2000s#1,0115,440
2010s#1,0026,046
2020s#8354,608
Before 19011.9%
Greatest Generation 1901–2721.8%
Silent Generation 1928–4524.1%
Baby boom 1946–6429.6%
Generation X 1965–8010.2%
Millennials 1981–965.4%
Generation Z 1997–123.5%
2013 and later3.7%

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 Sylvia is most common

Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Sylvia has been most common in New Mexico (1.7×), Texas (1.6×), and New York (1.5×), and least common in Nevada (0.22×).

232,744 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 Sylvia

#362 Wesley · 155,434#363 Molly · 153,463#365 Eduardo · 152,636#366 Jeffery · 152,231

Spelled almost the same

5 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Sylvia, most common first.

#3,249 Sylvie · 6,588#19,234 Sylva · 553#25,865 Sylvio · 364#28,260 Sylvi · 319#34,440 Sylivia · 237

Also a last name

As a last name, Sylvia ranks #6,228 of 156,621, with 5,266 people. See Sylvia as a last name

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