How Many People Are Named Sylvia Brown?

There are approximately 539 people named Sylvia Brown living in the United States today. That makes this name combination uncommon, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 635,908 Americans.

This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Sylvia with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Brown. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and Census background data where it is available.

Estimated People with This Name

539

1 in 635,908 Americans

Combination Rarity

Uncommon

Very Rare Very Common

First Name

Sylvia

Last Name

Brown

Est. Bearers 1,589,457

Census Rank #4

Per 100K 463.73

Rarity Very Common

Sylvia: Popularity Over Time

Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Sylvia. The peak year was 1937 with 4,389 births. The average person named Sylvia today is 58 years old.

Male

Female

Ancestry of the First Name Sylvia

In the 2020 Census, the first name Sylvia was most commonly recorded among people who identified as White (46.64%). The next largest recorded groups were Hispanic (31.85%) and Black (15.61%).

These percentages describe the people who had the first name Sylvia in the 2020 Census. They do not tell you the deeper origin or meaning of the name itself.

Read this as a snapshot of who already had the name in 2020, not as a trend line. The SSA chart above is still the better way to see how Sylvia rose or fell over time.

White

46.64%

Black

15.61%

Hispanic

31.85%

Asian/Pacific Islander

3.30%

American Indian/Alaska Native

0.70%

Two or More Races

1.90%

Ancestry of the Brown Surname

The surname Brown was most commonly recorded among people who identified as White in the 2020 Census.

This is a self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people who had the surname Brown in the published Census surname tables. It gives useful context around who was recorded with the name, but it does not tell the full family history of every Boone line.

White

55.43%

Black

34.68%

Hispanic

3.55%

Asian/Pacific Islander

0.66%

American Indian/Alaska Native

0.85%

Two or More Races

4.83%

How we calculated this

The first name "Sylvia" has an estimated frequency of 0.0339% among living Americans, based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024 adjusted for mortality using CDC 2023 life tables.

The surname "Brown" appears at a rate of 463.73 per 100,000 people in the 2020 U.S. Census.

We do not use the Census first-name snapshot for the main estimate because it is only published once every 10 years. The latest public first-name Census file is from 2020, which is already 6 years old. SSA birth records plus CDC survival data give a better current estimate of how many people with the first name Sylvia are likely to be alive now.

Multiplying these frequencies against the U.S. population of ~343 million gives 539 estimated people. This assumes first names and last names are statistically independent. Full methodology.

Other people named Sylvia

Sylvia Smith Sylvia Johnson Sylvia Williams Sylvia Jones Sylvia Garcia Sylvia Perry Sylvia Li

Other people with the surname Brown

Michael Brown James Brown John Brown David Brown Robert Brown William Brown Christopher Brown Joseph Brown

Sylvia Brown: Questions and Answers

How many people are named Sylvia Brown?

We estimate approximately 539 people named Sylvia Brown are alive in the United States today. The first name Sylvia is shared by 116,336 Americans, and the surname Brown is shared by 1,589,457.

How rare is the name Sylvia Brown?

This name combination is classified as Uncommon, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 635,908 Americans. The first name Sylvia is common and the surname Brown is very common.

Is Sylvia a male or female name?

Sylvia is predominantly female, with 0.4% of bearers being male and 99.6% female. It peaked in popularity in 1937 and the average bearer today is 58 years old.

What does the Census say about the first name Sylvia?

In the 2020 Census, the first name Sylvia was most commonly recorded among people who identified as White (46.64%). The next largest recorded groups were Hispanic (31.85%) and Black (15.61%). These percentages describe the people who had the name in the 2020 Census, not the deeper origin of the name itself.

Where does this data come from?

First name data comes from the Social Security Administration (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables. When available, first-name Census background data comes from the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau first-name tables. Surname data comes from the 2020 U.S. Census Bureau. Full methodology.

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