Name of the Week

 
There are so many facets to this name that it is hard to 
sum it up. Quirky, edgy, clunky, refined and nerdy all in one.

 

Origin:

An Anglicised spelling of Silvester, derived from the Latin silvestris meaning "of the forest," "wild" or "woody" and ultimately from silva "forest, wood." From this route also comes the word sylvan, and the Latin name Silvanus: the name of the Roman god of the forest.

Usage:

Examples of Sylvester as a given name date back to Late Antiquity. Most notable is Saint Sylvester (Sylvester I), a Roman-born pope from 314–35 under Emperor Constantine. Two later popes and one antipope chose to change their name to Sylvester during their papacy in honour of him.  St Sylvester's feast day is December 31 and, consequently, many countries call New Year's Eve "St Sylvester's Day," or even, as in many Germanic or Slavic language speaking countries, simply, "Silvester." Another medieval saint of the name (St Sylvester Gozzolini), and a companion of St Francis of Assisi, helped put the name in use in the Middle Ages across Europe. In Britain, the name was not very common, but there are enough examples for us to establish that it was a "known" name. The lay subsides of London, for example, mention one Silvester in 1292 but non in 1319 (though there is a reference to a pepperer named Silvester working in 1293).* The number of surnames that derive from the first name also give us a clue as to how it was used: Silvester, Sylvester, Selvester, Siveter and Siviter. Scott Smith-Bannister did not find that Sylvester ranked within the Top 50 most popular masculine names for any year between 1538-1700, however there are several hundred examples of the name in baptism records in England from 1500-1700.* Only a handful of examples can be found in Wales or Scotland.  According to the 1841 UK census 774 males were recorded with the name Sylvester (in both the Sylv- and Silv- spellings), with 90% living in England . The number rose to 862 in 1861, 1,268 in 1881 and 1,639 in 1901. Interestingly, in 1841 the spelling Silvester represented 81%. This slowly began to shift over the following decades and in 1901 the spelling Sylvester was in the majority at 62%. The name was also recorded for girls (6% in 1841 and 1861, 5% in 1881, and 4% in 1901), though sometimes in the spelling Sylvesta, or in the feminised Sylvestra. In terms of registrations per year in England and Wales, Sylvester never made it into the Top 200 in the 19th and 20th century, but it did maintain consistent usage up until the 1940s, with a few noticeable peaks: 1840: 26 registrations (11 Sylv/15 Silv) 1850: 32 registrations (10 Sylv/22 Silv) 1860: 36 registrations (9 Sylv/27 Silv) 1870: 38 registrations (12 Sylv/26 Silv) 1880: 44 registrations (17 Sylv/27 Silv) 1890: 57 registrations (24 Sylv/33 Silv) 1900: 38 registrations (21 Sylv/17 Silv) 1910: 53 registrations (34 Sylv/19 Silv) 1920: 31 registrations (25 Sylv/6 Silv) 1930: 25 registrations (21 Sylv/4 Silv) 1940: 6 registrations (5 Sylv/1 Silv) Between 1996 to 2010 Sylvester has had a birth count of between 1 and 7 births per year. In 2011 it ranked #1688 with 13 births.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Pope Sylvester I (d.335), also known as Saint Sylvester, Pope under Constantle the Great. * Pope Sylvester II (c.946–1003), scientist and intellectual. * Pope Sylvester III (d.1062) * St Sylvester Gozzolini (1177–1267), founder of the Sylvestrines religious order. * Sylvester of Assisi (d. 1240), companion of Saint Francis of Assisi. * Sylvester of Worcester (d. 1218), Bishop of Worcester. * Silvester Diggles (1817–1880), Australian artist, musician, entomologist and ornithologist. Contemporary: * Sylvester McCoy (born 1943), Scottish actor. * Sylvester Stallone (b.1946), American actor. Media: * Sylvester the Cat, a Looney Tunes character.

Variants:

Silvester (UK, German), Sylvestre (French) Silvestro (Italian) Silvestre (Spanish), Sylwester (Polish)

Pronunciation:

sil-VES-ta  [key]

Possible Diminutives:

Lev, Sev, Sly, Sully, Vester

Sibling Names:

Antonia     Minerva     Cordelia     Prudence     Marianne     Flavia  Julius     Percival     Casper     Ambrose     Lucius     Valentine

Name Lists:

Funky Clunky   Upright Elegance   Resonant Roman   Gothic Victoriana   Names from Tennyson

 

If you like Sylvester you may also like:   Augustus, Chester, Peregrine, Corentin, Ferdinand, Linus, Terrence, Cornelius, Lester, Vernon

 

Thanks to Cheryl for requesting Sylvester as this week's NotW.