Sylvester

Did you know?

A few things about Sylvester you might not know, from US birth records and Wikipedia. Handy for convincing a partner, or a grandparent.

⭐ Famous Sylvester

Sylvester Stallone

American actor and filmmaker (born 1946)

Choose Sylvester and your child shares a first name with Sylvester Stallone, an American actor and filmmaker. A ready-made answer when someone asks “Sylvester, like who?” Sylvester Stallone's Wikipedia article is available in 125 languages, a good sign of just how widely known they are.

Read about Sylvester Stallone on Wikipedia ↗ (opens in a new tab)

Photo: Georges Biard, CC BY-SA 3.0 (opens in a new tab), via Wikimedia Commons

• 👶How commonAbout 1 in every 26,667 baby boys born in the US in 2025 was named Sylvester, 64 babies in all. In a typical school of 500 kids, your Sylvester would very likely be the only one.
• 📜HistorySylvester has been in use since at least 1880, the first year US birth records were kept. That's 145 years of Sylvesters, and counting.
• 🏆Best yearIt was far more popular in 1889, when it ranked #126. Today it's #2,207, so it could be due a comeback.
• 🚀TrendSylvester has climbed 260 places in the US rankings over the last five years and now sits at #2,207. Fast risers like this often keep climbing, so expect to hear it more.
• 💬MeaningIn Latin, Sylvester means “of the woods”. Our records link it to English, German and Latin roots.

About the name Sylvester

Sylvester is a boy name of English, German and Latin origin meaning “of the woods”. It has 9 letters and 3 syllables, starting with S and ending in “-ter”. US birth records list Sylvester for boys from 1880 to 2025, in 146 of those 146 years. Its best year was 1889, when it ranked #126 among boy names. In 2025 it ranked #2,207, with 64 babies.

Origin:English namesGerman namesLatin names