How Many People Are Named Sylvan?
An estimated 1,825 people in the United States have the first name Sylvan. It is predominantly male (96.8%). The average bearer is 34 years old, and Sylvan peaked in popularity in 1918 with 103 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Sylvan as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Sylvan paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Sylvan is overwhelmingly male, 117 female births have been registered with this name since 1880.
Estimated Living Americans
1,825
About 1 in 187,811 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Rare
Predicted Gender
Male
96.8% confidence
Average Age
34
years old
Peak Year
1918
103 births
Total Registered
3,701
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Sylvan
Sylvan is predominantly male (96.8%), though 117 female births have been registered. It functions as a unisex name for a small percentage of bearers.
Sylvan as a male name
Ranked #1,911 in 2024
83 male births in 2024
Peak: 1918 (103 births)
Sylvan as a female name
Ranked #7,529 in 2024
15 female births in 2024
Peak: 2024 (15 births)
Sylvan: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Sylvan span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1920s, when 660 babies were registered. While Sylvan is less common than at its peak in the 1920s, it remains a well-established name with steady registrations.
Sylvan by Decade
How has Sylvan tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
Sylvan by State
Birth registrations for Sylvan span all 17 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland. The lowest are in South Dakota, Oregon, New Jersey. On average, about 48 Sylvans were registered per state.
Sylvan + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Sylvan as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Sylvan
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
Sylvan: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sylvan?
We estimate approximately 1,825 people named Sylvan are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 187,811 Americans share this first name.
Is Sylvan a common name?
Sylvan is classified as "Rare" and is more popular than 93.3% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 3,701 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Sylvan most popular?
Sylvan reached peak popularity in 1918, when 103 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Sylvan is approximately 34 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Sylvan a male name?
Sylvan is predominantly male. 96.8% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Sylvan Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Sylvan Smith, Sylvan Johnson, Sylvan Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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