Sylvester is a boy's name of Scandinavian origin meaning “woody, rural, of or living in a forest and wood.” In 2024 it was given to 71 boys in the United States.
Sylvester at a glance
Gender
Boy name
Origin
Scandinavian
Meaning
“woody, rural, of or living in a forest and wood”
Pronunciation
/sɪlˈvɛstɚ/
About the name Sylvester
Sylvester belongs to the Scandinavian tradition. Its meaning — “woody, rural, of or living in a forest and wood” — is the sense carried by its Scandinavian roots, and it is the meaning we verified against published sources for this page.
In the United States, Sylvester first appears in Social Security records in 1880. It climbed to its best-ever rank of #127 in 1889, and in 2024 71 babies received the name — 43,165 in total since 1880. Those are the official counts, not estimates.
Sylvester means “woody, rural, of or living in a forest and wood” in its Scandinavian roots. We check every meaning against published sources before it appears here.
Is Sylvester a boy or girl name?
Sylvester is a boy name. In 2024, 71 babies received the name in the US.
What origin is the name Sylvester?
Sylvester comes from the Scandinavian tradition.
How popular is the name Sylvester?
Sylvester first appears in US records in 1880. Its best-ever ranking was #127 in 1889, and 71 babies were given the name in 2024.
How do you pronounce Sylvester?
Sylvester is pronounced /sɪlˈvɛstɚ/ (IPA).
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Meaning and origin for this page were checked against this source. US popularity figures are from the Social Security Administration's public baby-names data. If you spot an error, write to [email protected] — accuracy is the whole point of this site, and corrections are made fast.
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