Silas
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from Aramaic of Biblical origin. From Latin Sīlās, from Ancient Greek Σίλας (Sílas), from Aramaic שְׁאִילָא (šəʾīlā), cognate of Hebrew שָׁאוּל (šāʾūl, “Saul”). Doublet of Saul.
Source: Wiktionary, English entry for Silas (CC BY-SA 4.0). This is the origin of the name in English; families in Sweden may have taken it from another language.
Popularity in Sweden
Among newborns, Silas has been fairly steady over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 2009. The figures are for this exact spelling; other spellings of the name are counted on their own.
Years with fewer than two babies (fewer than ten before 2004) show as zero in the chart and as – in the table.
Show the figures
| Year | Boys |
|---|---|
| 1998 | – |
| 1999 | – |
| 2000 | – |
| 2001 | – |
| 2002 | – |
| 2003 | – |
| 2004 | 2 |
| 2005 | 6 |
| 2006 | 9 |
| 2007 | 8 |
| 2008 | 16 |
| 2009 | 47 |
| 2010 | 42 |
| 2011 | 40 |
| 2012 | 36 |
| 2013 | 34 |
| 2014 | 29 |
| 2015 | 30 |
| 2016 | 32 |
| 2017 | 30 |
| 2018 | 28 |
| 2019 | 17 |
| 2020 | 28 |
| 2021 | 24 |
| 2022 | 21 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Women and girls | Men and boys |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | – | 28 |
| 2000 | – | 32 |
| 2001 | – | 34 |
| 2002 | – | 39 |
| 2003 | – | 45 |
| 2004 | – | 43 |
| 2005 | – | 49 |
| 2006 | – | 59 |
| 2007 | – | 67 |
| 2008 | – | 82 |
| 2009 | – | 133 |
| 2010 | – | 172 |
| 2011 | – | 209 |
| 2012 | – | 248 |
| 2013 | – | 284 |
| 2014 | – | 319 |
| 2015 | – | 348 |
| 2016 | 10 | 381 |
| 2017 | 10 | 416 |
| 2018 | 10 | 442 |
| 2019 | 10 | 461 |
| 2020 | 10 | 487 |
Silas in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Silas.Hi! My name is Silas.
- Silas bor i Umeå och jobbar som snickare.Silas lives in Umeå and works as a carpenter.
- Silas har bott i Uppsala i tre år.Silas has lived in Uppsala for three years.
- Silas mamma är lärare.Silas's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Silas mamma is Silas's mum. Because Silas already ends in s, nothing is added.
More names
Questions about Silas
How do you pronounce Silas in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Silas in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Silas mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a male given name from Aramaic of Biblical origin. From Latin Sīlās, from Ancient Greek Σίλας (Sílas), from Aramaic שְׁאִילָא (šəʾīlā), cognate of Hebrew שָׁאוּל (šāʾūl, “Saul”). Doublet of Saul.
How popular is Silas in Sweden?
21 babies were named Silas in 2022. In 2020, 497 people in Sweden had Silas as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been fairly steady lately and peaked in 2009 in the years SCB covers (1998–2022).
Popularity figures: Statistics Sweden (SCB), name statistics (BE0001) from the Statistical Database, released as open data under CC0. Each spelling is counted as its own name, as SCB does. SCB's open name statistics end with babies named in 2022 and the population on 31 December 2020; SCB stopped producing name statistics in 2024 and now points to the Swedish Tax Agency (Skatteverket) for newer figures.
Origins, IPA and recordings: Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0), via kaikki.org; recordings from Lingua Libre on Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA). Lingolib is not affiliated with SCB or Wiktionary. Sources last checked 7 October 2026.