Sylvanus

Meaning of Sylvanus

The name Sylvanus, pronounced sil-VAY-nus (/sɪlˈveɪnus/), derives from the Latin silvanus—an adjectival formation of silva (“wood, forest”) originally designating the Roman tutelary deity of wooded realms. As a masculine appellation, it entered early Christian onomastic practice through New Testament references to a companion of the Apostle Paul, and it has since maintained sporadic but continuous usage within Anglo-American contexts. Morphologically, the name couples the root silva with the nominalizing suffix -nus, yielding a form that conveys guardianship of sylvan landscapes. In the United States today, Sylvanus remains exceptionally rare: in 2024, seven newborns bore the name (ranked 917th), consistent with annual tallies of five to eight since 2015 and markedly below its early twentieth-century peak of fifteen bearers in 1915. From both an etymological and a statistical standpoint, Sylvanus offers a technically rich, historically resonant option for those seeking a classical, understatedly distinguished masculine name.

Pronunciation

English

• Pronunced as sil-VAY-nus (/sɪlˈveɪnus/)

• Silas
• Silvan
• Silvano
• Silvio
• Sylvester
• Sylvan
• Sylvestre