How common is the surname Silva?

161,633 people in the United States had the surname Silva in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 1,910 Americans. It ranked 163rd of 162,253 surnames.

Who is the most famous person named Silva?

Thiago Silva, Brazilian association football player, followed by Gilberto Silva.

Where is the surname Silva most common?

Wikidata records people named Silva in Brazil, the United States and Portugal and 3 other countries.

How do you pronounce Silva?

Silva is /ˈsɪlvə/, 2 syllables.

Is the surname Silva getting more or less common?

More common. 126,164 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 161,633 in 2010, up 28%.

Is Silva also a first name?

Yes. Silva is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.

The surname Silva

A Portuguese surname, carried by 161,633 people in the United States.

Pronounced /ˈsɪlvə/ 2 syllables Soundex S410

Every surname held by 100 or more people in the 2010 US Census, most common on the left (162,253 in all). Silva is more common than 99.9% of them.

Origin

Portuguese origin

Borrowed from Portuguese Silva.

One of 71 Portuguese surnames on this site.

Origin from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).

How common it is

2010 US Census

There were 161,633 people named Silva in the United States in 2010, about 1 in every 1,910 Americans. That is up 28% since 2000, when the Census counted 126,164.

#163

rank among US surnames

161,633

people in 2010

per 100,000 Americans

+28.1%

change since 2000 (was #214)

Rank	Surname	People	1 in
#154	Guzman	167,044	1,848
#155	Burns	165,925	1,861
#156	Crawford	164,457	1,877
#157	Olson	164,035	1,882
#158	Simpson	163,181	1,892
#159	Porter	163,054	1,894
#160	Hunter	162,440	1,901

Who is named Silva

Race and Hispanic origin as people reported it in the 2010 Census

61% of people named Silva identified as Hispanic or Latino (any race), 33% as white (not Hispanic) and 2.0% as Black (not Hispanic).

Hispanic or Latino (any race) 61%
White (not Hispanic) 33%
Black (not Hispanic) 2.0%
Asian and Pacific Islander 2.0%
Two or more races 1.6%
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.4%

Compare: most common surnames among Hispanic and Latino Americans.

Famous Silvas

142 notable people on Wikidata, most written-about first

Thiago Silva
Brazilian association football player, born 1984
Gilberto Silva
Brazilian footballer, born 1976
Rafael Pereira da Silva
Brazilian footballer (born 1990)
Marina Silva
Brazilian environmentalist and politician (born 1958)
Mauro Silva
Brazilian association football player, born 1968
Rafaela Silva
Brazilian judoka, born 1992
Adhemar da Silva
Brazilian triple jumper (1927–2001)
Anderson Silva
Brazilian mixed martial artist, born 1975
Lucas Silva
Brazilian footballer (born 1993)
Luiz Guilherme da Conceição Silva
Brazilian association football player, born 1986
Henry Silva
American actor (1926–2022)
Léo Silva
Brazilian association football player, born 1985

Notable Silvas come mostly from Brazil (122), the United States (7) and Portugal (3).

Spellings and sound-alikes

Useful when a record has your ancestor under another spelling

Surnames that sound like Silva

Silva has the Soundex code S410, the code US census indexes have used since the 1930s. Every surname with code S410.

Other Portuguese surnames

All 71 Portuguese surnames

Questions

Where does the surname Silva come from?: Borrowed from Portuguese Silva.
How common is the surname Silva?: 161,633 people in the United States had the surname Silva in the 2010 Census, about 1 in every 1,910 Americans. It ranked 163rd of 162,253 surnames.
What ethnicity is the surname Silva?: In the 2010 Census, 61% of people named Silva identified as Hispanic or Latino (any race), and 33% as white (not Hispanic).
Who is the most famous person named Silva?: Thiago Silva, Brazilian association football player, followed by Gilberto Silva.
Where is the surname Silva most common?: Wikidata records people named Silva in Brazil, the United States and Portugal and 3 other countries.
How do you pronounce Silva?: Silva is /ˈsɪlvə/, 2 syllables.
Is the surname Silva getting more or less common?: More common. 126,164 people carried it in the 2000 Census and 161,633 in 2010, up 28%.
Is Silva also a first name?: Yes. Silva is used as a first name as well as a surname; its first-name page has the meaning and how many babies were given it.