Surname Rarity Checker / How rare is Silva
How Rare Is the Last Name Silva?
Silva is the 163rd most common surname in the United States. About 161,633 Americans carry it, which works out to roughly 1 in 1,644 people, or 0.0608% of the population. That is a common surname, though far from the top of the list. Here is the full picture from the Census surname file, plus a card you can save and share.
- Rarity
- 1 in 1,644
- Tier
- Common
- U.S. rank
- 163rd
- Share of people
- 0.0608%
- People named
- 161,633
- Source
- Census 2010
Based on the U.S. Census Bureau 2010 surname file, which counts 265,667,228 people across 162,253 surnames held by 100 or more people.
Where the surname Silva comes from
Silva means 'forest' or 'woodland' in Latin and Portuguese. It is the most common surname in both Portugal and Brazil, where a large share of the population carries it.
Want to check a different last name? Try the surname rarity checker. Last names are only half the picture: the first-name rarity checker runs the same math on given names, and how common is my name combines the two.
Frequently asked questions
- How rare is the last name Silva?
- Silva is in the Common tier. About 1 in 1,644 Americans share it, which is 0.0608% of the population, and it ranks 163rd of all U.S. surnames. In total 161,633 people carried it in the 2010 Census.
- Is Silva a rare last name?
- No. Silva is a well-established surname rather than a rare one. It is in the Common tier, ranked 163rd of all U.S. surnames, with about 1 in 1,644 Americans sharing it.
- How common is the surname Silva?
- About 1 in 1,644 Americans carry the surname Silva, which is 0.0608% of the population and 163rd of all U.S. surnames. That places it in the Common tier.
- How many people have the last name Silva?
- 161,633 people in the United States, according to the Census Bureau's 2010 surname file, which counted 265,667,228 people across 162,253 surnames.
- Where does the surname Silva come from?
- Silva means 'forest' or 'woodland' in Latin and Portuguese. It is the most common surname in both Portugal and Brazil, where a large share of the population carries it.