Silas
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Meaning
biblical name, probably a short form of Silvanus; its deeper origin is uncertain
Goes by Si. See all nicknames
The story
Silas comes with uncertainty at its root and open doors in its stories. It is probably a short form of Silvanus, though it may instead reflect a Greek and Latin pairing connected with Saul. That unresolved origin suits a name repeatedly found at moments of reversal. In Acts, the text places Paul and Silas in prison, praying and singing hymns, before the doors open and the prisoners' chains come loose. In George Eliot's Silas Marner, the movement is quieter but just as clear. Gold keeps Marner's thoughts circling inward; Eppie turns them toward the future and toward his neighbors. Scripture and novel are different kinds of narrative, and neither describes people who bear the name. Together they give Silas a striking literary rhythm: enclosure, interruption, then a life opening outward. The etymology stays unsettled, but the scenes need no tidying.
How popular is Silas around the world?
In the United States, 24,550 babies were named Silas between 2020 and 2025. In Norway, 63 boys were given the name Silas in 2025.
Silas is on the official records of the United States, Norway, Canada, New Zealand, South Australia, Austria, Brazil, France, England and Wales, Scotland, Argentina and Spain.
United States
1 in 890
In the United States, 24,550 babies were named Silas between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Silas peaked in the 2020s.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Norway
1 in 440register 2026
In Norway, 63 boys were given the name Silas in 2025.
share of the boys on the register for that year, SSB’s own figure
People who have or have had a Norwegian ID number, emigrants left out, from Statistics Norway’s name statistics (release of January 2026): by year of birth for 1945–2020 (everyone born that year who was ever registered in Norway, including people who registered later and people who have since died) and by year of naming from 2021; only first names carried by 200 or more living people are listed, counts under 4 are withheld, and SSB merges spellings that differ only by letters outside the Norwegian alphabet. The shares are SSB’s own, of the people of that sex and year in that count; the 2025 figure counts the children named that year, and no year is a count of births. Source: Statistics Norway (SSB), table 10467 (updated 2026-01-28)
Canada
1 in 1,600
In Canada, 231 boys named Silas were born in 2024, the 138th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from provincial and territorial vital statistics across Canada; any name-sex-year under 5 is excluded at source, and small Quebec counts carry a randomized adjustment made at source. Shares divide by Statistics Canada’s count of live births for the year; the 2024 count is preliminary. Source: Statistics Canada, first names at birth (table 17-10-0147-01)
New Zealand
1 in 2,000
In New Zealand, 29 boys named Silas were registered in 2025.
share of that year’s name registrations
First given names from New Zealand birth registrations, grouped by registration year; any name under 10 in a year is excluded at source. Shares divide by Stats NZ’s count of births registered to mothers living in New Zealand, under 1% below the registry’s own count. Source: Department of Internal Affairs (New Zealand), baby name popularity over time
South Australia
1 in 2,3002017
In South Australia, 8 boys were registered as Silas in 2017.
share of that year’s name registrations
Births registered in South Australia (not all of Australia) by first name and year of registration, 1944–2017, from the state’s Births, Deaths and Marriages registry, which publishes every name down to a single birth in capitals; a spelling its export repeats inside a year is counted once, and from 2018 only a top 100 is published, so the series ends at 2017. Source: Consumer and Business Services (South Australia), popular baby names
Austria
1 in 4,200
In Austria, 18 boys named Silas were born in 2025, the 305th most common name among boys that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
share of that year’s births on record
Live births in Austria by year of birth, 1984–2025, from Statistik Austria’s first-name statistics; spellings that differ only by special characters are counted together (umlauts stay apart), every name down to a single birth is published, and the count covers babies with Austrian citizenship only until 2009, every baby from 2010, and from 2015 also births abroad to mothers living in Austria. Shares divide by Statistik Austria’s count of live births from 2010, and before that by the file’s own total for the year. Source: Statistik Austria - data.statistik.gv.at (OGDEXT_VORNAMEN_1, updated 2026-07-09)
Brazil
1 in 6,000
At the 2022 census, 33,856 people in Brazil were named Silas, the 754th most common name, with a median age of 32.
Among people named Silas living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 1990s than in any other decade.
people alive at the 2022 census, by decade of birth
The census also counted 1,097 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart. People alive and resident in Brazil at the 2022 census, a living-population count, not births; names under 20 are withheld at source. Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
France
1 in 8,600
In France, about 75 boys named Silas were born in 2025, the 590th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s births on record
Births in France by year of birth, from INSEE’s fichier des prénoms (1900–2025; Mayotte from 2012); exact spellings count separately (Léo and Leo are different names), any spelling under 3 in a year and sex is withheld at source, every count is rounded to the nearest 5 at source, and nametree keeps the spellings that reached 20 in some year. Shares divide by INSEE’s count of births in France from 1957, and before that by the file’s own total for the year; INSEE says the file is not complete before 1946. Source: Insee, fichier des prénoms (last updated 2026-07-16)
England and Wales
1 in 8,900
In England and Wales, 66 boys named Silas were born in 2025, the 585th most common name among boys that year.
share of that year’s name registrations
Birth registrations in England and Wales (not the whole UK); exact spellings are counted separately, and any spelling under 3 in a year is withheld at source. Source: Office for National Statistics, baby names in England and Wales
Scotland
1 in 11,000
In Scotland, 4 boys named Silas were registered in 2024, the 619th most common name among boys that year.
The count never rose above 4 in a year, too few to chart.
Births registered in Scotland; different spellings count separately but accents are merged at source, and any spelling under 3 in total is suppressed. Source: National Records of Scotland, babies' first names
Argentina
1 in 110,000
In Argentina, 6 newborns were given the name Silas in 2024.
The count never rose above 9 in a year, too few to chart.
Given-name components of births in Argentina 2012–2024; national cells are lower bounds and no sex split is published. Source: RENAPER (Argentina), Dirección Nacional de Población, given names 2012-2024
Spain
1 in 290,000
In Spain, 153 residents are named Silas, ranked 5,814th among men, with a mean age of 20.3 years.
Residents of Spain on 1 January 2025. Spain publishes how old a name’s living bearers are, not a birth series, so there is no year chart. Source: INE (Spain), Censo de Población anual, 1 January 2025
Ireland
last on record 2020
Silas is not on the 2025 record for Ireland, where names under 3 in a year are withheld at source.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
Exact registered spellings from Irish vital statistics; any name under 3 in a year is withheld at source, and accented spellings (fadas) are recorded reliably only from 2018. Source: Central Statistics Office (Ireland), Irish babies' names
Montevideo City
last on record 2010
Silas is not on the 2011 record for Montevideo, whose registry withholds nothing, so the spelling was not given there that year.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
Births in the department of Montevideo (not all of Uruguay) by first name and year of birth, 1940–2011, from the city’s civil registry, which writes names in capitals, almost always without accents; counted as spelling groups (accent and punctuation variants merged), nothing is withheld at source, and 2012 is excluded as a partial year. Source: Servicio de Registro Civil, Intendencia de Montevideo, Partidas de Registro Civil de Montevideo (Licencia de Datos Abiertos - Uruguay); 2012 dropped as partial
Not on the record in Mexico City, Puerto Rico and Poland: those registries withhold small counts, so rare uses may sit below their floors.
Not on the Chile record: nametree keeps spellings that reached 5 registrations in some year, so rarer uses are not shown.
When you meet Silas
Most people given the name Silas in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
Keep exploring
Names like Silas · Nicknames for Silas · Middle names for Silas
The Silas deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Silas truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Silas fits with your family’s names and surname.
Questions about Silas
Does Silas really mean “man of the forest”?
Only at one remove. Silas, a companion of Saint Paul, is probably a short form of Silvanus, a Roman name from Latin silva, wood or forest. So the forest sense belongs to the longer name it came from; Silas itself is a shortening, and an older theory ties it to the Hebrew Saul through Aramaic.
Source: Behind the Name (Silas) · Behind the Name (Silvanus)
What middle names go with Silas?
Cassius (3 beats to Silas's 2, so the pair keeps its rhythm), Dominik (3 beats to Silas's 2, so the pair keeps its rhythm), and Paul (a single beat to anchor Silas's 2). The full list, each pairing with its reason, is on the middle names page for Silas.
Is Silas too popular right now?
Silas is popular right now, without being everywhere and still rising. In US Social Security records since 1890, its score for the 2020s is 5 out of 10, up from 1 in the 2000s. The 2020s are its peak so far. Before the 2000s it appears in every decade of the published lists, from 509 boys in its thinnest decade to 2,031 in the 1920s.
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