Girls' name · since 1884

Silvia

Since 1884, U.S. Social Security records show 21,272 babies named Silvia, peaking in 1991. See the year-by-year trend, decade totals, and state rankings below, sourced from federal birth data.

#1,027 of 72,339
all-time among girls
#1,236 of 17,297
2025 SSA year
21,272
born since 1884
1980s
peak decade

Yes -- Silvia is the #1236 most popular girls' name in the U.S. today, with 21,272 recorded since 1884.

According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Silvia has been recorded 21,272 times among girls since 1884, currently ranked #1236 nationally and more common than 93% of girls, with its heaviest use in the 1980s. This profile covers year-by-year birth trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution, all derived directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1884 to 2025.

  • #1,027 of 72,339 all-time among girls
  • #1,236 of 17,297 2025 SSA year
  • 21,272 born since 1884
  • 1980s peak decade

Data updated Aug 2026

The verdict

According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Silvia ranks #1,027 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #1,236 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. 21,272 born since 1884, peaking in the 1980s.

#1,027 of 72,339
all-time among girls
#1,236 of 17,297
2025 SSA year
21,272
born since 1884
1980s
peak decade
0%100%Median name50%92.8%
Silvia vs. every other girls name in current SSA rankings
Upper archive tier
All-time archive position

Silvia's 21,272 recorded births place it above 98.58% of the 72,339 girls names in the full SSA archive.

35 jurisdictions
State-record footprint

35 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by California.

How Silvia compares

21,272 Top 6% higher than 94% of 17,297 names currently given to girls

Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked girls names. Names with fewer occurrences are grouped into wider buckets on the right.

Source U.S. Social Security Administration, national baby name data

How the numbers stack up

Silvia's all-time total is 57x the median girls name, and Olivia still leads by a wide margin.

Metric Silvia Median girls name (Kyann) #1 girls name (Olivia)
All-time total births 21,272 376 567,345
Peak-year births 374 21 19,840

Silvia's usage pattern, beyond the headline number

Splitting Silvia's full recorded timeline at 1957, 86% of its total births fall in the more recent half of the record versus 14% in the earlier half -- usage has skewed toward the present, not a one-decade spike. Its quietest year on record was 1888, with just 5 recorded births -- worth weighing against the 1991 peak of 374 to see the full range of the name's swing in popularity.

Silvia popularity over time - girls

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1884–2025

Outside the top 1,000
Peak year (1991)
374
Annual births at peak, across 142 years of records
0100200300400 188419061924194219601978199620142025 182

Silvia popularity over time - boys

51 total births recorded since 1966 (Silvia as boys' name)

Unisex variant - 51 births
468101214 19661979198219841985198619881994 6

Silvia by decade

1980s is the heaviest window (3,255 births, 15% of the file).

1980s was Silvia's strongest decade.

3,255 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 15% of all-time use.

Silvia births by decade

Total births in each ten-year window

births

What this shows Peak: 1980s at 3,255 births (15% of all-time use).

Source U.S. Social Security Administration · Baby Names As of August 2026

How Silvia compares to similarly-sized names

Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 girls names closest to Silvia's total volume

Silvia vs 15 similarly-sized girls names Scatter plot of 16 data points. 0%2%4%6%8%10% 050100150200 New & already peakedOld name, single-era peakNew & still diversifyingLong history, steady all along Years in SSA records % of total births in the single peak year -63, 6.6%-51, 4.7%-46, 5%-113, 3.8%-123, 2.9%-49, 4.6%-146, 2.6%-53, 8.1%-146, 3%-56, 6.2%-146, 2.1%-66, 4.1%-80, 4.8%-145, 2.6%-146, 3.2%Silvia-142, 1.8%Silvia
Silvia vs 15 similarly-sized girls names

Silvia by state

Where Silvia concentrates geographically, total births since 1884

Regionally concentrated
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Silvia
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 California
7,322 34.4%
#2 Texas
3,684 17.3%
#3 New York
1,451 6.8%
#4 Illinois
1,029 4.8%
#5 Florida
719 3.4%
#6 Arizona
373 1.8%
#7 New Jersey
337 1.6%
#8 Washington
199 0.9%
California share of Silvia's total US births 34.4%
Even split

7,322 of 21,272 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 35 reporting states.

Silvia appears in 35 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Silvia?
Silvia has been given to 21,272 babies in the U.S. since 1884, according to SSA data. Its archive ordinal is #1,027 of 72,339 among girls' names (total births, highest first). Among girls in 2025, it is #1,236 of 17,297. 374 babies were born in 1991, its single highest year.
Where does Silvia sit in the SSA name archive?
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Silvia ranks #1,027 of 72,339 girls' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #1,236 of 17,297 among girls' names in 2025. All-time ordinal matches browse popularity (total births DESC); the current ordinal uses the 2025 SSA file. See /methodology#corpus-placement.
When was Silvia most popular?
Silvia was most popular in the 1980s decade with 3,255 total births. The single peak year was 1991.
Where is Silvia most popular?
The top states for the name Silvia are California (7,322 births), Texas (3,684 births), New York (1,451 births).
How long has the name Silvia been used?
Records for Silvia go back to 1884, giving 142 years of history through 2025.
What names are similar to Silvia?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Silvana, Silver, Silva, Sila, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for girls.

What to do with Silvia's data

  • Silvia's decade-level peak was the 1980s (3,255 total births); usage has since declined to 1,036 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
  • California records the most Silvias (7,322 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. California names

Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.

Keep exploring Silvia

Nearby Names Like Silvia

Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Silvia

Names with a similar popularity rank to Silvia

Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span

Two nationwide peer axes for Silvia: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.

Peak year is the single SSA year with the most births for that name; record span is first-to-latest year in the national files, not a recommendation or shared origin claim.

Data Sources

Data as of August 2026. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

According to the Social Security Administration, this profile draws directly from the agency's public-use baby-name files (updated June 2026). See our methodology for the full extraction, aggregation, and privacy-suppression rules.

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications, National Data, 1884–2025 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames).

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names, State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip).

Name Almanac is rendered directly from the Social Security Administration's public baby-name files, no number is typed in by an editor. This profile for Silvia draws directly on SSA national and state-level files, no figure is typed in by an editor. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of August 2026.