Silvia
Meaning and origin
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name from Latin. Feminine form of Silvius, from Latin silva (“forest”). In myths, Rhea Silvia was the mother of famous twins Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome. 6th-century saint Silvia was the mother of the pope Gregory the Great.
Source: Wiktionary, English entry for Silvia (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, Silvia has been fairly steady over the last few years. Its best year between 1998 and 2022 was 1999. 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 | Girls |
|---|---|
| 1998 | – |
| 1999 | 13 |
| 2000 | – |
| 2001 | – |
| 2002 | – |
| 2003 | – |
| 2004 | 3 |
| 2005 | 7 |
| 2006 | 7 |
| 2007 | 9 |
| 2008 | 6 |
| 2009 | 5 |
| 2010 | 9 |
| 2011 | 3 |
| 2012 | 4 |
| 2013 | 4 |
| 2014 | 12 |
| 2015 | 5 |
| 2016 | 6 |
| 2017 | 4 |
| 2018 | 4 |
| 2019 | 7 |
| 2020 | – |
| 2021 | 5 |
| 2022 | 11 |
Everyone registered in Sweden on 31 December with this as the first name they use.
Show the figures
| Year | Women and girls |
|---|---|
| 1999 | 737 |
| 2000 | 752 |
| 2001 | 753 |
| 2002 | 773 |
| 2003 | 796 |
| 2004 | 798 |
| 2005 | 821 |
| 2006 | 846 |
| 2007 | 858 |
| 2008 | 879 |
| 2009 | 911 |
| 2010 | 922 |
| 2011 | 941 |
| 2012 | 958 |
| 2013 | 978 |
| 2014 | 999 |
| 2015 | 1,018 |
| 2016 | 1,049 |
| 2017 | 1,078 |
| 2018 | 1,098 |
| 2019 | 1,135 |
| 2020 | 1,139 |
Silvia in a sentence
- Hej! Jag heter Silvia.Hi! My name is Silvia.
- Silvia bor i Göteborg och pluggar till sjuksköterska.Silvia lives in Gothenburg and is training to be a nurse.
- Silvia har bott i Uppsala i tre år.Silvia has lived in Uppsala for three years.
- Silvias mamma är lärare.Silvia's mum is a teacher.
Swedish shows possession with a plain -s and no apostrophe: Silvias mamma is Silvia's mum.
Related names and other spellings
More names
Questions about Silvia
How do you pronounce Silvia in Swedish?
Press Listen at the top of the page to hear Silvia in your device's Swedish voice.
What does the name Silvia mean?
Wiktionary describes it as a female given name from Latin. Feminine form of Silvius, from Latin silva (“forest”). In myths, Rhea Silvia was the mother of famous twins Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome. 6th-century saint Silvia was the mother of the pope Gregory the Great.
How popular is Silvia in Sweden?
11 babies were named Silvia in 2022. In 2020, 1,139 people in Sweden had Silvia as the first name they go by. Among newborns the name has been fairly steady lately and peaked in 1999 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.