The Sylvia surname

In the 2010 U.S. Census, 5,756 people carried this name — #5,977 among all U.S. surnames, about 1 in every 51,300 people counted. That is down 1% from 5,835 in 2000.

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In print

Sylvia in American newspapers,
1874–1908.

Newspaper page from The Havre Herald carrying the name Sylvia
The Havre Herald 1908-01-17
Newspaper page from Bradford Opinion carrying the name Sylvia
Bradford Opinion 1874-07-04
Newspaper page from The Telegraph-courier carrying the name Sylvia
The Telegraph-courier 1891-06-25

Chronicling America, Library of Congress — digitised newspapers in the public domain.

In print

Sylvia in Australian newspapers,
1850s–2000s.

67,390 articles name a Mr, Mrs or Miss Sylvia. The most, 17,330, date from the 1930s. New South Wales has the most articles, but weighed against how much of each state’s press from the same decades has been digitised, the name stands out most in South Australia, at 1.5 times its expected share.

Articles, by state

New South Wales 22,034
Victoria 13,421
South Australia 10,844
Queensland 9,428
Western Australia 7,476
Tasmania 3,285
ACT (Canberra) 525
Northern Territory 49

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

Who carried it

People named Sylvia,
with a public archive behind them.

  • Gaby Sylvia
    Gaby Sylvia 1920–1980 · actor
  • Gaby Sylvia
    Gaby Sylvia 1920–1980 · actor
  • Gaby Sylvia
    Gaby Sylvia 1920–1980 · actor
  • Saucy Sylvia
    Saucy Sylvia 1921–2017 · comedian
  • Colin Sylvia
    Colin Sylvia 1985–2018 · Australian rules football player
  • Lina Sylvia d. 1994 · singer

Wikidata (CC0) · portraits via Wikimedia Commons, shown cropped, in the public domain or CC0 · 9 lives in all are documented under this name.

In the public record

People named Sylvia,
in the records of 4 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 States583 records

583 records of the Sylvia name in the United States
  • U.S. Army enlistment records, World War II 292
  • U.S. alien registration index, 1940–1955 145
  • U.S. veterans' cemetery records, burials to 2001 93
  • New York City birth, marriage and death certificates 31
  • New York State death index (outside NYC), 1957–2001 16
  • Passenger arrivals in the United States, 1820–1912 3
  • U.S. service members who died in the Vietnam War 3
  1. Names engraved on the Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Washington, D.C.
    Example: U.S. war memorial
    War record Jerry Sylvia

    Born 1950; from Palisades Park, New Jersey. U.S. Marine Corps, rifleman; killed in action 1969 in Quang Nam, South Vietnam. Buried at Long Island National Cemetery, New York.

    U.S. National Archives, Defense Casualty Analysis System (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  2. A United States Selective Service registration card, 1942
    Example: U.S. registration card, 1942
    Military record Glenn C. Sylvia

    Born 1914 in Maine. Enlisted 1943 at Portland, from Cumberland County. U.S. Army veteran of World War II; died 1997, buried at Maine Veterans Memorial Cemetery, Augusta, Maine.

    U.S. National Archives, WWII Army Enlistment Records (public domain); U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Gravesite Locator (CC0)
  3. A passenger manifest of the S.S. St. Paul, arriving at New York in 1903
    Example: passenger manifest, 1903
    Passenger record Daisy Sylvia

    Arrived at New York in 1881 aboard the Wyoming from Liverpool and Queenstown, aged 1. From England.

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

Showing 3 of 583 records for Sylvia in the United States.

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

Australia6 records

6 records of the Sylvia name in Australia
  • Tasmanian Names Index 4
  • Victoria wills and probate, deaths to 2001 2
  1. A petition to the probate court of St. Louis, 1848
    Example: probate petition, 1848
    Probate record Ronald George Sylvia

    Fork lift driver of Merbein, Victoria; died 1979.

    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 Peter Manuel Sylvia

    Left Hobart in 1819 aboard the Surrey, bound for Port Jackson, as a seaman.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)
  3. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Birth record Pamelia Sarah Jane Sylvia

    Born 1886 in Hobart, Tasmania.

    Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0)

Showing 3 of 6 records for Sylvia in Australia.

Counts: Libraries Tasmania, Tasmanian Names Index (CC BY 4.0) · Public Record Office Victoria (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Petition to the probate court, St. Louis, 1848, Missouri Historical Society (public domain); Emigration file, Gündlingen, 1883, Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg, Staatsarchiv Freiburg B 694/1 Nr. 1389 (CC BY 4.0); Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Canada5 records

5 records of the Sylvia name in Canada Nova Scotia Archives name indexes
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Death record Margaret Eudora Sylvia

    Died 1969 in Truro, Colchester, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  2. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Birth record Bernard Sylvia

    Born 1909 in New Glasgow, Pictou, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.
  3. A marriage entry in the civil register of Tilburg, 1911
    Example: marriage register, 1911
    Marriage record Eliza A. Sylvia

    Married 1894 in Guysborough, Nova Scotia.

    Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia.

Showing 3 of 5 records for Sylvia in Canada.

Counts: Nova Scotia Archives. Contains information licensed under the Open Government Licence - Nova Scotia. Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0); Marriage register, Tilburg, 1911, Regionaal Archief Tilburg (public domain).

Netherlands1 record

1 record of the Sylvia name in the Netherlands Dutch church registers before 1811
  1. A page of the Berlin civil register, 1880
    Example: civil register, 1880
    Civil record Anne Sylvia

    Baptised in 1786 in Rotterdam.

    Open Archives, Stadsarchief Rotterdam (CC BY 4.0)

Counts: Open Archives (CC BY 4.0). Example pages, not the records of the people shown: Civil register, Berlin, 1880, Landesarchiv Berlin (CC0).

Nearby in the index

Surnames next to Sylvia.

When the index is not enough

This page says where Sylvia 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 Sylvia volume
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