Sylvan

#8,362 for girls in 2025, 12 births · #1,668 for boys in 2025, 99 births
Given to boys 96.6% of the time

Showing
Show data for
Peak · boys
1912 · 53 births
Debut · boys
7 births
In top 100 · boys
never
of 146 years
Total births · boys
3,684
since 1886

Sylvan over time

boys

Rank among boys' names. Sylvan has never cracked the top 500 here.

#1#10#100#1,000#10,000rank188019001920194019601980200020201886peak #552, 1912boys
Hover or use arrow keys to read values by year; click or press Enter to open that year.

Gaps mean fewer than 5 babies received the name that year, so the SSA doesn't publish it.

Show data table
Yeargirlsboys
rankbirthsrankbirths
2025#8,36212#1,66899
2024#7,25115#1,89184
2023#8,98911#2,01475
2022#11,2318#1,93880
2021#10,2929#2,19364
2020#12,1427#2,72845
2019—#2,65648
2018#9,15111#3,44632
2017—#3,24935
2016—#2,78343
2015#11,8358#4,08025
2014—#3,15435
2013#16,5475#3,58229
2012—#3,45031
2011—#3,99425
2010—#3,81227
2009#12,4298#4,74820
2008—#4,71420
2007—#4,99618
2006#13,6067#3,88825
2005—#4,63118
2004#16,0995#4,12921
2003#13,8446#4,11420
2002#15,4325#3,09529
2001—#3,72122
2000#13,1546#3,64022
1999—#5,65611
1998—#3,70819
1997—#5,28811
1996—#5,9829
1995—#4,79112
1994—#3,91116
1993#11,7806#3,24620
1992—#4,56412
1991—#6,5197
1990—#3,77915
1989—#4,52711
1988—#3,70513
1987—#3,20115
1986—#4,8538
1985—#3,21614
1984—#2,70617
1983—#3,23013
1982—#4,2349
1981—#3,22113
1980—#3,09814
1979—#4,0689
1978—#5,0596
1977—#3,8369
1976—#3,7249
1975—#2,36118
1974—#3,8378
1973—#3,01311
1972—#2,53414
1971—#2,36616
1970—#4,7245
1969—#3,9356
1968—#3,3657
1967——
1966—#1,89117
1965—#3,9305
1964—#1,90018
1963—#2,41412
1962—#2,67310
1961—#2,14815
1960—#1,91018
1959—#2,11115
1958—#2,17714
1957—#2,01916
1956—#2,01516
1955—#2,43511
1954—#2,04415
1953—#1,83618
1952—#1,40629
1951—#1,72519
1950—#1,46425
1949—#1,32230
1948—#1,46025
1947—#1,36329
1946—#1,55721
1945—#1,53619
1944—#1,19331
1943—#1,17034
1942—#1,29829
1941—#1,25428
1940—#1,18332
1939—#1,14132
1938—#1,12533
1937—#1,14833
1936—#1,06836
1935—#95644
1934—#1,03839
1933—#1,07837
1932—#91550
1931—#1,06540
1930—#99047
1929—#91454
1928—#95051
1927—#96452
1926—#76571
1925—#72380
1924—#78773
1923—#80369
1922—#84066
1921—#76876
1920—#81268
1919—#76671
1918—#604103
1917—#71373
1916—#63684
1915—#73466
1914—#72452
1913—#64148
1912—#55253
1911—#62424
1910—#98111
1909—#95110
1908—#74413
1907—#73513
1906—#67413
1905——
1904—#8748
1903—#8468
1902——
1901——
1900—#74312
1899—#61311
1898——
1897—#8527
1896—#9826
1895——
1894—#1,0745
1893——
1892—#1,0665
1891—#9635
1890——
1889——
1888—#1,0315
1887——
1886—#7587
1885——
1884——
1883——
1882——
1881——
1880——
First appearance
1886

The first year at least five boys were named Sylvan! It came in at #758, and was given to 7 baby boys.


Quietest stretch: 1887–1895, when fewer than 6 boys a year got the name.

Where Sylvan is popular in 1886

The SSA only publishes names by state from 1910 on.

See more about Sylvan
Momentum · boys
Rising
  • 223 spots since 2024 (#1,891 → #1,668)
  • 1,060 spots since 2020 (#2,728 → #1,668)
  • 2,412 spots since 2015 (#4,080 → #1,668)
  • Biggest jump: 357 spots in 1911 (#981 → #624)
  • Biggest drop: 207 spots in 1909 (#744 → #951)
Rise & fade · boys
26 yrs to peak
  • Debuted 1886
  • Peaked 1912 at #552 (53 births)
  • Births halved by 1945, 33 yrs later
Top of the charts · boys
Top 1,000 for 35 yrs
  • Top 10: never
  • Top 100: never
  • Top 1,000: 35 yrs · run 1906–1930
Share of babies · boys
1 in 8,112
  • Highest: 1 in 8,112 boys born in 1912 were named Sylvan (0.01%)
  • Latest: 1 in 17,253 boys born in 2025 (0.01%)
Era · boys
The 1920s
  • 17.9% of all boys named Sylvan (660) were born in this decade
Show by decade
DecadeBirthsBest rankAvg rank
1880s12#758 (1886)#895
1890s39#613 (1899)#925
1900s77#674 (1906)#795
1910s585#552 (1912)#698
1920s660#723 (1925)#833
1930s391#915 (1932)#1,052
1940s278#1,170 (1943)#1,334
1950s178#1,406 (1952)#1,923
1960s108#1,891 (1966)#2,685
1970s105#2,361 (1975)#3,552
1980s127#2,706 (1984)#3,599
1990s132#3,246 (1993)#4,744
2000s215#3,095 (2002)#4,168
2010s330#2,656 (2019)#3,421
2020s447#1,668 (2025)#2,072

All figures count published births only (names given to at least 5 boys in a year). Registrations before 1937 are incomplete, so early shares and totals run low.

Sylvan in 1886

boys
#758
7 births · 1 in 15,826 boys

Top boys' names in 1886

  1. #1John9,026
  2. #2William8,252
  3. #3James5,355
  4. #4George4,671
  5. #5Charles4,533
  6. #6Frank3,127
  7. #7Joseph2,594
  8. #8Robert2,443
  9. #9Henry2,404
  10. #10Thomas2,337
  11. #758Sylvan7
More about 1886

boys

110,783 boys got a published name in 1886; 1 in 15,826 of them was named Sylvan, which outranked 31.7% of the 1,110 boys' names that year. The ten most popular names covered 40.4% of boys (44.2% in 1880, 8.0% in 2025).

Ranked beside Sylvan
  1. #694Wellington8
  2. #694Winston8
  3. #694Zeb8
  4. #758Sylvan7
  5. #758Aleck7
  6. #758Alvia7
  7. #758Ansel7
  8. #845Ada6
  9. #845Algie6
  10. #845Almon6

Tied with 86 names at #758; 3 shown. Tied names share a rank, as in SSA's lists.

Biggest movers since 1885
Risers
  1. ↑ 505Thornton#936 → #431
  2. ↑ 485Oswald#936 → #451
  3. ↑ 445Evans#936 → #491
  4. ↑ 396Grace#936 → #540
  5. ↑ 385Abel#836 → #451
Fallers
  1. ↓ 497Adelbert#462 → #959
  2. ↓ 438Carey#521 → #959
  3. ↓ 412Santiago#547 → #959
  4. ↓ 382Brooks#577 → #959
  5. ↓ 355Alma#604 → #959

Among names in the top 1,000 of either year.

See the top 100 for 1886 →