Silas

Where Silas comes from

From Latin Sīlās, from Ancient Greek Σίλας (Sílas), from Aramaic שְׁאִילָא (šəʾīlā), cognate of Hebrew שָׁאוּל (šāʾūl, “Saul”). Doublet of Saul.
— Wiktionary's entry for Silas
  • Aramaic
  • 2 syllables
Silas through the years
  1. 1880
    First SSA year
    Already #139 among boys, with 98 babies in the first year on record.
  2. 1970
    Silas Weir Mitchell born
    American actor
  3. 1998
    Silas Katompa Mvumpa born
    DR Congolese footballer
  4. 2025
    Peak, #71
    4,639 babies named Silas, the most in any year.
  5. 2025
    The comeback
    Back to #71 after sinking to #1,003 in 1967.
In the dictionary
  • A male given name from Aramaic of Biblical origin.
Namesakes
  • Silas Weir Mitchell · American actor, born 1970
  • Silas Katompa Mvumpa · DR Congolese footballer, born 1998
  • Silas Kiplagat · Kenyan distance runner, born 1989
  • Silas Carson · English actor, born 1965
  • Silas Weir Mitchell · American physician, 1829–1914

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.