Boys' name · since 1880
Sylvester
43,230 babies named Sylvester in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1920. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.
- #553 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #2,207 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 43,230
- born since 1880
- 1920s
- peak decade
Sylvester currently ranks #2207 among boys' names in America, with 43,230 babies recorded since 1880.
Sylvester has 43,230 recorded births among boys since 1880, per the U.S. Social Security Administration, ranked #2207 as of the latest data, more common than 84% of boys, busiest in the 1920s -- see the year-by-year trends, decade totals, and state-level distribution below, all drawn directly from SSA birth-registration files spanning 1880 to 2025.
- #553 of 45,481 all-time among boys
- #2,207 of 13,930 2025 SSA year
- 43,230 born since 1880
- 1920s peak decade
Data updated Aug 2026
The verdict
According to the U.S. Social Security Administration, Sylvester ranks #553 of 45,481 boys' names by all-time recorded births (highest first) and #2,207 of 13,930 among boys' names in 2025. 43,230 born since 1880, peaking in the 1920s.
- #553 of 45,481
- all-time among boys
- #2,207 of 13,930
- 2025 SSA year
- 43,230
- born since 1880
- 1920s
- peak decade
Sylvester's 43,230 recorded births place it above 98.78% of the 45,481 boys names in the full SSA archive.
40 jurisdictions carry state-level records, led by Mississippi.
How Sylvester compares
43,230 Top 4% higher than 96% of 13,930 names currently given to boys
Based on all-time total births among currently-ranked boys 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
Sylvester's all-time total is 117x the median boys name, and Liam still leads by a wide margin.
| Metric | Sylvester | Median boys name (Takari) | #1 boys name (Liam) |
|---|---|---|---|
| All-time total births | 43,230 | 369 | 358,536 |
| Peak-year births | 807 | 34 | 22,252 |
Sylvester's usage pattern, beyond the headline number
Sylvester splits its recorded history at 1953: 36% of all births land in the more recent half, 64% in the earlier half, leaning more toward its earlier era than today's. The single quietest year was 2020 (52 births) -- compare that against the 1920 peak of 807 for a sense of just how much the name's popularity has swung.
Sylvester popularity over time - boys
Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 1880–2025
- Peak year (1920)
- 807
- Annual births at peak, across 146 years of records
Sylvester popularity over time - girls
627 total births recorded since 1890 (Sylvester as girls' name)
Sylvester by decade
1920s is the heaviest window (6,861 births, 16% of the file).
1920s was Sylvester's strongest decade.
6,861 babies received the name during that ten-year window, about 16% of all-time use.
Sylvester births by decade
Total births in each ten-year window
- 1880s 796
1880s
796 births
- 1890s 971
1890s
971 births
- 1900s 1,343
1900s
1,343 births
- 1910s
1910s
5,420 births
- 1920s
1920s
6,861 births
- 1930s
1930s
5,139 births
- 1940s
1940s
5,361 births
- 1950s
1950s
6,171 births
- 1960s
1960s
3,840 births
- 1970s 2,293
1970s
2,293 births
- 1980s 2,018
1980s
2,018 births
- 1990s 1,212
1990s
1,212 births
- 2000s 735
2000s
735 births
- 2010s 677
2010s
677 births
- 2020s 393
2020s
393 births
What this shows Peak: 1920s at 6,861 births (16% of all-time use).
How Sylvester compares to similarly-sized names
Years in SSA records vs. share of all-time use concentrated in the single peak year, among 15 boys names closest to Sylvester's total volume
Sylvester by state
Where Sylvester concentrates geographically, total births since 1880
| Rank | State | Visual share | Births | Share of total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #1 | Mississippi | | 2,957 | 6.8% |
| #2 | Georgia | | 2,139 | 4.9% |
| #3 | Alabama | | 2,133 | 4.9% |
| #4 | Illinois | | 2,128 | 4.9% |
| #5 | Pennsylvania | | 2,104 | 4.9% |
| #6 | Texas | | 2,055 | 4.8% |
| #7 | Florida | | 1,894 | 4.4% |
| #8 | North Carolina | | 1,829 | 4.2% |
2,957 of 43,230 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 40 reporting states.
Sylvester appears in 40 states. Explore state details →
Frequently Asked Questions
How popular is the name Sylvester? ▼
Where does Sylvester sit in the SSA name archive? ▼
When was Sylvester most popular? ▼
Where is Sylvester most popular? ▼
How long has the name Sylvester been used? ▼
What names are similar to Sylvester? ▼
What to do with Sylvester's data
- Sylvester's decade-level peak was the 1920s (6,861 total births); usage has since declined to 393 in the 2020s -- if you're weighing a "classic revival" angle, the trend line argues against it.
- Mississippi records the most Sylvesters (2,957 births) -- see the full state breakdown if geography matters to your decision. Mississippi names
Figures reflect SSA-reported births only; see the methodology above for the privacy-suppression floor.
Keep exploring Sylvester
Nearby Names Like Sylvester
Names with a similar sound, spelling, or feel to Sylvester
Compare Sylvester side by side: Sylvester vs Sylas Sylvester vs Sylvan Sylvester vs Sylus
Related Names
Names with a similar popularity rank to Sylvester
Nationwide names with similar peak year or record span
Two nationwide peer axes for Sylvester: closest SSA peak year, and closest first→latest record span. Distinct from the spelling and current-rank neighborhoods above.
Similar peak year (~1920)
Similar record span (~145 yrs)
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, 1880–2025 (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 Sylvester 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.