The Silvestre surname
In the 2010 U.S. Census, 3,550 people carried this name — #9,190 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 83,300 people counted. That is up 57% from 2,265 in 2000.
Where the name comes from
The origin of the Silvestre surname
Borrowed from Latin Silvester.
From Wiktionary, the free dictionary (en.wiktionary.org) — entry «Silvestre» (Portuguese), by Wiktionary contributors · licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0) · excerpt, lightly adapted.
In Argentina’s national register
At least 4,432 people named Silvestre 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 Buenos Aires Province.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
RENAPER (National Registry of Persons, Argentina), surnames of residents by province, December 2021 — CC BY 4.0.
In France’s civil register
France’s register of deaths holds 2,214 people named Silvestre.
137 of them were born outside France. Those born in France came from 84 départements, most often Vaucluse.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they were born
Fichier des personnes décédées, INSEE — Licence Ouverte 2.0 · deaths recorded in France since 1970, by place of birth.
In Switzerland’s population statistics
258 people named Silvestre live in Switzerland.
They live in 16 of Switzerland’s 26 cantons, most of all in Geneva.
Where it concentrates, on the mapWhere they live today
Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO), «Surnames of the permanent resident population by canton», 2025, opendata.swiss/en/dataset/nachnamen-der-standigen-wohnbevolkerung-nach-kanton3 · names with fewer than 3 bearers in a canton are not published.
In Belgium’s population register
At least 60 people named Silvestre live in Belgium.
Statbel only publishes a name in a municipality when five or more people there share it, so the real number is higher. Most of them live in Liège.
Too few records to say where it concentrates region by region — these are plain counts, not shares.
Where they live today
Statbel (Statistics Belgium), family names of the population by municipality, 1 January 2026 — CC BY 4.0.
In print
Silvestre in American newspapers,
1897–1909.
Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain · 10,022 pages in all carry the name.
Who carried it
People named Silvestre,
with a public archive behind them.
-
Antoine Isaac Silvestre de Sacy 1758–1838 · writer -
Joseph-Balthazar Silvestre 1791–1869 · illuminator -
Jean-Jacques Silvestre d. 1995 · researcher
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Gonzalo Silvestre 1550–1592
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Pierre Silvestre 1662–1718 · physician
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Louis Silvestre 1669–1740 · visual artist
Wikidata and Wikimedia Commons (CC0) · 10 lives in all are documented under this name.
Nearby in the index
Surnames next to Silvestre.
- Silvain 107 · U.S. census
- Silvan 379 · U.S. census
- Silvani 298 · U.S. census
- Silvano 491 · U.S. census
- Silvera 2,082 · U.S. census
- Silvert 121 · U.S. census
- Silvestri 4,638 · U.S. census
- Silvestrini 234 · U.S. census
- Silvestro 1,147 · U.S. census
- Silvi 211 · U.S. census
- Silvy 111 · U.S. census
- Sima 942 · U.S. census
When the index is not enough
This page says where Silvestre 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.