Name of the Week: Sylvia, Sylvie

 

 

Origin:

Sylvia is the modern spelling (in English, Scandinavian and German-speaking countries) of the Latin name Silvia, the feminine form of Silvius. Sylvie is the French form of the name.  Both Silvia and Silvius derive from the Latin word silva "a wood" and was notable in Rome's founding story. According to the Romans, the Trojan hero Aeneas settled in Italy and founded a Trojan-Latin colony named Alba Longa. His grandson (sometimes son) Silvius became king and established the "Silvian Dynasty." Legend has it that Silvius was born in the woods which was how he came by his name.** His son was named Aeneas Silvius, and grandson Latinus Silvius. From that point, Silvius became a cognomen of all the kings of Alba Longa.  It is by this means that the last king of Alba Longa, Numinor, came to have a daughter named Rhea Silvia who in turn was the mother of Romulus and Remus — the legendary founders of Rome.

Usage:

Though it wasn't prolific, Silvius can be found as a nomen (given name) in inscriptions from Roman Britain.** Records for women in the Roman world are far scarcer, but we can presume that Silvia was in use as a feminine form as per Roman tradition.  Saint Silvia, or Sylvia, (c.515–c.592) is venerated by the Catholic church as the mother of St. Gregory the Great which indicates that the name survived into Late Antiquity.  Silvia came into use in Italy during the Renaissance and it was during this period that the name appeared occasionally in British literature. Renowned Italophile Shakespeare used Silvia for The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1589-93).  In Britain, Sylvia was in regular use by the 18th century, and remained constant through to  the mid-19th century. It particularly grew after the 1860s which may be have been helped a little by Elizabeth Gaskell's 1863 novel Sylvia's Lovers, set in the 1790s. Below is a breakdown of the birth rankings for Sylvia in England and Wales and a comparison of the births per decade of the variant forms Sylvia, Silvia and Sylvie: Birth rankings:   Births per decade:   Sylvia     Sylvia Silvia Sylvie 1850:  1860:  1870:  1880:  1890: 1900:  #213 #212 #205 #179 #169 #137   1840s:  1850s: 1860s: 1870s: 1880s: 1890s: 1900s: 180 278 316 666 1036 2270 4836 68 46 52 64 93 118 143 1 0 7 8 3 12 31 click to enlarge In France, Sylvie was in moderate use in the first part of 20th century, ranking #159 in 1900, #200 in 1910, #188 in 1920 and #200 in 1930. It rose in the 1940s, reaching #100 in 1945. Only ten years later, in 1955, it has risen to #12 and was in the top 10 from 1956 to 1972. Sylvie was at #1 for four consecutive years from 1961 to 1964. Sylvie steadily declined in France during the 1970s. It was out of the top 100 after 1985 and out of the top 500 by 2000. It is still in use in France, but has from 2009, has only had between 10 and 30 births per year.   click to enlarge Having risen to #137 in 1900, Sylvia first broke into the top 100 in England and Wales in 1914 at #82. It grew quickly from then on, peaking at #18 in 1934.  It was last in the top 100 in 1954 at #64 after which it fell out.  By 1996, Sylvia was consistently around the #1000 mark (averaging around 20 births per year). Both Sylvie and Silvia were in consistent use as well, though less common.  From 2004, Sylvia began to make a steady increase in usage. This is also the time, however, that Sylvie overtook Sylvia, rising from #1026 (23 births) in 2003 to #558 (63 births) in 2006. In 2016 in England and Wales, Sylvie ranked #458 with 95 births; Sylvia ranked #693 with 59 births and Silvia ranked #2367 with 11 births.  In 2016 in Scotland, Sylvie ranked #502 with 6 births; Sylvia ranked #675 with 4 births and Silvia ranked #1028 with 2 births.  Sylvia also ranked in the top 50 Telegraph births of 2017.

Famous Bearers:

History: * Sylvia Pankhurst (1882–1960), British artist and suffragette. * Sylvia Ashton-Warner MBE (1908–1984), New Zealand writer, poet and educator. * Sylvia Plath (1932–1963), American poet, novelist, and short-story writer. Contemporary: * Silvia Pinal Hidalgo (born 1931), Mexican actress, producer and politician. * Sylvia Syms (born 1934), British actress. * Sylvia Siddell (1941–2011), New Zealand artist. * Queen Silvia of Sweden (born 1943), the spouse of King Carl XVI Gustaf. * Dame Silvia Cartwright (born 1943), New Zealand jurist who served as the 18th Governor-General of New Zealand. * Sylvie Vartan (born 1944), French singer. * Sylvia McNair (born 1956), American opera singer. * Sylvia Constantinidis (born 1962), Venezuelan-American pianist, conductor and composer. * Sylvie Guillem CBE (born 1965), French ballet dancer. * Sylvie Testud (born 17 January 1971) is a French actress, writer, and film director Literature and Other Media: * Sylvia ou La Nymphe de Diane, a classical ballet with music written by Léo Delibes in 1876. * Sylvia Costas, Assistant District Attorney in the American television drama NYPD Blue. * Sylvie, a character in Charlotte Brontë's The Professor (1857).  Other: * Sylvia, a genus of warbler bird.  * 87 Sylvia, an asteroid.

Variants:

Sylvia (English, Scandinavian, German), Silvia (Roman, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese), Sylvie (French), Silvija (Slavic), Sylwia (Polish), Silvie (Czech)

Pronunciation:

SIL-vee-ə / SEEL-vee [key]

Possible  Diminutives:

Silla, Sivi, Vee

Sibling Names:

Vivienne    Willa     Aurelia     Emmeline     Beatrix    Ottilie  Laurence     Jasper     Rex     Benedict     Felix     Wilfred

Name Lists:

Sylvia: Vintage Names   Victorian Darlings   Saintly and Stylish    Sylvie: Vintage Names   Ripe Renovations   Dulcet Dainties     Silvia: Resonant Roman  Shakespearean Names   Demi-Gods and Mortals of Mythology

 

If you like Sylvie/a you may also like:   Genevieve, Ophelia, Theodora, Cecily, Adeline, Dulcie, Octavia, Theresa, Flora, Viola

Thanks to Jess for requesting this name.