How Many People Are Named Sylvester?
An estimated 19,194 people in the United States have the first name Sylvester. It is predominantly male (98.6%). The average bearer is 60 years old, and Sylvester peaked in popularity in 1920 with 819 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Sylvester 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 Sylvester paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Sylvester is overwhelmingly male, 627 female births have been registered with this name since 1880.
Estimated Living Americans
19,194
About 1 in 17,857 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Male
98.6% confidence
Average Age
60
years old
Peak Year
1920
819 births
Total Registered
43,792
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Sylvester
Sylvester is predominantly male (98.6%), though 627 female births have been registered. It functions as a unisex name for a small percentage of bearers.
Sylvester as a male name
Ranked #2,108 in 2024
71 male births in 2024
Peak: 1920 (807 births)
Sylvester as a female name
Ranked #10,241 in 1981
6 female births in 1981
Peak: 1926 (27 births)
Sylvester: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Sylvester span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1920s, when 7,028 babies were registered. Sylvester has declined significantly from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Sylvester by Decade
How has Sylvester 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.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 796 | 796 | 0 | |
| 1890s | 990 | 971 | 19 | |
| 1900s | 1,411 | 1,343 | 68 | |
| 1910s | 5,542 | 5,420 | 122 | |
| 1920s | 7,028 | 6,861 | 167 | |
| 1930s | 5,232 | 5,138 | 94 | |
| 1940s | 5,406 | 5,362 | 44 | |
| 1950s | 6,229 | 6,170 | 59 | |
| 1960s | 3,869 | 3,840 | 29 | |
| 1970s | 2,311 | 2,292 | 19 | |
| 1980s | 2,024 | 2,018 | 6 | |
| 1990s | 1,213 | 1,213 | 0 | |
| 2000s | 735 | 735 | 0 | |
| 2010s | 677 | 677 | 0 | |
| 2020s | 329 | 329 | 0 | |
Sylvester by State
Birth registrations for Sylvester span all 40 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in Mississippi, Georgia, Alabama. The lowest are in Washington, New Mexico, Colorado. On average, about 901 Sylvesters were registered per state.
Sylvester + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Sylvester as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Sylvester
Other first names starting with S with a similar number of bearers.
Sylvester: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Sylvester?
We estimate approximately 19,194 people named Sylvester 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 17,857 Americans share this first name.
Is Sylvester a common name?
Sylvester is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 98.4% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 43,792 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Sylvester most popular?
Sylvester reached peak popularity in 1920, when 819 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Sylvester is approximately 60 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Sylvester a male name?
Sylvester is predominantly male. 98.6% of people with this name are male. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Sylvester Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Sylvester Smith, Sylvester Johnson, Sylvester 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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