The Silas surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 4,729 people carried this name — #7,080 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 62,500 people counted. That is up 14% from 4,153 in 2000.

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In Argentina’s national register

At least 86 people named Silas live in Argentina.

RENAPER only publishes a name in a province when more than ten people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in San Luis.

Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.

Where they live today

San Luis 51
Córdoba 18
Formosa 17

RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.

In print

Silas in American newspapers,
1894–1906.

Newspaper page from Middlebury Register carrying the name Silas
Middlebury Register 1894-05-04
Newspaper page from The Florida Agriculturist carrying the name Silas
The Florida Agriculturist 1906-01-17
Newspaper page from Southwest-sentinel carrying the name Silas
Southwest-sentinel 1894-04-17

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 12,752 pages in all carry the name.

In print

Silas in Australian newspapers,
1810s–1990s.

12,009 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Silas. The most, 2,047, date from the 1890s. Weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, it stands out most in Victoria, at 1.3 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

Victoria 3,523
New South Wales 3,060
Queensland 2,627
South Australia 1,007
Western Australia 923
Tasmania 743
ACT (Canberra) 31
Northern Territory 4

Trove, National Library of Australia (trove.nla.gov.au) · articles in its digitised newspapers that name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Silas.

Who carried it

People named Silas,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Edouard Silas
    Edouard Silas 1827–1909 · composer
  • Paul Silas
    Paul Silas 1943–2022 · basketball player
  • Dolores Irene Silas 1926–2021 · head teacher
  • Eric Godwin Silas 1928–2018 · ichthyologist
  • Johan Silas 1936–2026 · architect
  • Roberta Youvella Silas 1939–2009

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Silas,
in the records of 5 countries.

Soldiers, farmers, migrants and neighbours who carried the name and left a trace in public archives. Everyone shown here died long ago or was born more than a century ago.

United States219 records

219 records of the Silas name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 102
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 55
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 25
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 20
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 9
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 4
  • Irish Famine arrivals at New York, 1846–1851 3
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 1
  1. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Fred Silas

    Born 1903 in New York. Enlisted 1943 at New York City; foreman from Queens County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1962, buried at Long Island National Cemetery, New York.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Theodore Buchanan Silas

    Born 1944; from Los Angeles, California. U.S. Marine Corps, rifleman; killed in action 1966 in Quang Nam, South Vietnam.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Baas Silas

    Arrived at New York in 1894 aboard the Rotterdam from Rotterdam, aged 23; laborer. From Holland, the Netherlands; bound for New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted)

Showing 3 of 219 records for Silas in the United States.

Counts: U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain) · U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0) · NYC Department of Records & Information Services, Historical Vital Records (NYC Open Data) · U.S. National Archives, Flexoline Index Data File (public domain) · New York State Department of Health, Genealogical Research Death Index · U.S. National Archives, Castle Garden Immigration Center Collection, Ship Passenger Records (unrestricted) · U.S. National Archives, Famine Irish Passenger Records (public domain) · U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: U.S. Selective Service registration card, 1942 (public domain); Vietnam Veterans Memorial, photo by U.S. Army Sgt. 1st Class Michael J. Carden, 2009 (public domain); Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain).

Netherlands90 records

90 records of the Silas name in the Netherlands
  • Dutch population registers 58
  • Dutch civil registers (births, marriages, deaths) 31
  • Dutch church registers before 1811 1
  1. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Juda Silas

    Married in 1865 in Amsterdam; workman.

    Open Archives, Noord-Hollands Archief (CC BY 4.0)
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Marjanna Nathan Silas

    Died 1855 in Appingedam, aged 85.

    Open Archives, Groninger Archieven (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the 1910 United States census, Milwaukee
    Example: U.S. census, 1910
    Population register Samuel Silas

    In the population register of 's-Gravenhage; born 1905 in Amsterdam.

    Open Archives, Haags Gemeentearchief (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 90 records for Silas in the Netherlands.

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); U.S. census of 1910, Milwaukee (public domain).

France9 records

9 records of the Silas name in France France's national death register, 1970–2001
  1. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Georges Julien Silas

    Born 1904 in Coux; died 1976 in Coux (Charente-Maritime).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  2. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Henriette Jeanne Alice Silas

    Born 1910 in Lourdes (Hautes-Pyrénées); died 1997 in Ploemeur (Morbihan).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)
  3. A page of the death register of Nice, 1930
    Example: French death register, 1930
    Death record Leontine Silas

    Born 1891 in Saint-Benoît; died 1976 in Poitiers (Vienne).

    Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte)

Showing 3 of 9 records for Silas in France.

Counts: Insee, Fichier des personnes décédées (Licence Ouverte). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Death register of Nice, 1930, Archives départementales des Alpes-Maritimes (public domain).

Australia7 records

7 records of the Silas name in Australia
  • Victoria passenger lists, 1839–1923 6
  • Tasmanian Names Index 1
  1. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Elis Silas

    Arrived in Victoria in 1909 aboard the Afric, aged 24.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)
  2. The first page of an emigration file from Gündlingen, Baden, 1883
    Example: German emigration file, 1883
    Emigration record James Silas

    Left Launceston in 1852 aboard the Shamrock, bound for Melbourne.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Mich Silas

    Sailed from Victoria in 1852 aboard the Thomas and Henry, bound for Sydney, aged 32.

    Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 7 records for Silas in Australia.

Counts: Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0) · Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, New York, 1903 (public domain); Emigration file, Gündlingen, 1883, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Freiburg B 694/1 Nr. 1389 (CC BY 4.0).

Canada3 records

3 records of the Silas name in Canada
  • City of Calgary cemetery records 1
  • Nova Scotia Archives name indexes 1
  • City of Winnipeg cemetery records 1
  1. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Hugh Mervyn Silas

    Buried in 1999 at Queen's Park Cemetery, Calgary, Alberta, aged 69.

    City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary.
  2. Fairview Lawn Cemetery in Halifax, Nova Scotia
    Example: Canadian cemetery
    Burial record Humphrey Silas

    Died 1968; buried at Brookside Cemetery, Winnipeg, Manitoba.

    City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg.

Showing 2 of 3 records for Silas in Canada.

Counts: City of Calgary. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – City of Calgary. · Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. · City of Winnipeg. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence – Winnipeg. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Fairview Lawn Cemetery, Halifax, photo by Edgar El (CC BY 3.0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Silas.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Silas is.
A volume says what happened to it.

Every page in the index is free and stays free. The Heritage Volume is the long form: the full paper trail, the arms, the crossing — bound, and yours.

See the Silas volume
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