Sylas
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Meaning
phonetic respelling of Silas, of the forest
The story
Sylas is Silas respelled with a y, the forest name of the old Latin reading worn with a modern signature, and the couple files in order: Silas, the anchor, about 74,900 with its own story here; Sylas at about 9,000, nearly all boys. The record is young and steep: about 140 in the 1990s, 1,000 in the 2000s, cresting at 4,000 in the 2010s, with 3,700 so far this decade, closing on the full 2010s with years to run. The y does what the era's deliberate letters do, marks the choice as chosen, and everything underneath survives the respelling intact: the woods, the old missionary companion of the epistles, and the quiet gravity that made the anchor a revival favorite. Same forest, different signpost.
How popular is Sylas around the world?
In the United States, 3,723 babies were named Sylas between 2020 and 2025.
Sylas is on the official records of the United States, Canada, France, England and Wales, Austria and Brazil.
United States
1 in 5,900
In the United States, 3,723 babies were named Sylas between 2020 and 2025.
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Sylas peaked in the 2010s and the 2020s in nearly equal measure.
Births with a Social Security record. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration
Canada
1 in 12,000
In Canada, 31 boys named Sylas were born in 2024, the 831st 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)
France
1 in 32,000
In France, about 20 boys named Sylas were born in 2025, ranked 1,589th 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 53,000
In England and Wales, 11 boys named Sylas were born in 2025, ranked 2,133rd 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
Austria
1 in 76,000
In Austria, 1 boy named Sylas was born in 2025, ranked 1,842nd among boys that year, spellings that differ only by special characters counted together.
The count never rose above 1 in a year, too few to chart.
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 1M
At the 2022 census, 281 people in Brazil were named Sylas, ranked 19,968th, with a median age of 28.
Among people named Sylas 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
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
South Australia
last on record 2015
Sylas is not on the 2017 record for South Australia, whose registry publishes every name given that year.
The count never rose above 3 in a year, too few to chart.
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
Not on the record in Spain, Mexico City, Argentina, Puerto Rico, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland 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. Not on the Montevideo record for 1940 to 2011: that registry withholds nothing, so this spelling was not given there in those years. Not on Norway’s list: Statistics Norway lists only first names carried by 200 or more living people, so rarer names are not shown.
When you meet Sylas
Most people given the name Sylas 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.
The Sylas deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Sylas 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 Sylas fits with your family’s names and surname.
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