Silva

Last updated
Silva
Origin
MeaningForest, Woodland or Jungle
Region of origin Portugal, Galicia
Other names
Variant forms"da Silva", "de Silva", "d'Silva", "e Silva"

Silva is a surname of Portuguese or Galician origin which is widespread in the Portuguese-speaking countries [1] [2] [3] including Brazil. [4] [5] The name is derived from Latin silva ("forest" or "woodland").[ citation needed ] It is the family name of the House of Silva.

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The name is widespread in Galician-speaking regions of Spain (mostly in Galicia) and even more so in regions of the former Portuguese Empire in the Americas (being the most common surname in Brazil), in Africa and Asia, notably in India and Sri Lanka. It is also quite common in Spanish-speaking Latin America.

Movement of people has led to the name being used in many places. Due to emigration from Portuguese-speaking countries, Silva (other variant forms include: "da Silva", "de Silva", "d'Silva", "e Silva") is the fifth most common surname in the French department of Val-de-Marne, outside Paris, [6] and it was the 19th most common family name given to newborns between 1966 and 1990 in France.

Distribution of the surname Silva in Brazil

LocationPopulation [7] Population with the surname Silva [7] % of the population with the surname Silva [7]
Bandeira do Acre.svg Acre 830,018230,21227.74%
Bandeira de Alagoas.svg Alagoas 3,127,6831,118,13835.75%
Bandeira do Amapa.svg Amapá 733,759125,17617.06%
Bandeira do Amazonas.svg Amazonas 3,941,613740,53418.79%
Bandeira da Bahia.svg Bahia 1,414,16262,487,20417.59%
Bandeira do Ceara.svg Ceará 8,794,9571,692,86819.25%
Bandeira do Distrito Federal (Brasil).svg Distrito Federal 2,817,381390,95813.88%
Bandeira do Espirito Santo.svg Espírito Santo 3,833,712449,43311.72%
Flag of Goias.svg Goiás 7,056,4951,200,73117.02%
Bandeira do Maranhao.svg Maranhão 6,776,6991,581,75723.34%
Bandeira de Mato Grosso.svg Mato Grosso 3,658,649651,32317.80%
Bandeira de Mato Grosso do Sul.svg Mato Grosso do Sul 2,757,013400,16214.51%
Bandeira de Minas Gerais.svg Minas Gerais 20,539,9893,162,88615.40%
Bandeira do Para.svg Pará 8,120,1311,593,31219.62%
Bandeira da Paraiba.svg Paraíba 3,974,6871,120,14828.18%
Bandeira do Parana.svg Paraná 11,444,3801,136,3949.93%
Bandeira de Pernambuco.svg Pernambuco 9,058,9313,100,71534.23%
Bandeira do Piaui.svg Piauí 3,271,199771,65123.59%
Bandeira do estado do Rio de Janeiro.svg Rio de Janeiro 16,055,1742,515,89515.67%
Bandeira do Rio Grande do Norte.svg Rio Grande do Norte 3,302,729919,52227.84%
Bandeira do Rio Grande do Sul.svg Rio Grande do Sul 10,882,9651,140,16710.48%
Bandeira de Rondonia.svg Rondônia 1,581,196256,79516.24%
Bandeira de Roraima.svg Roraima 636,707125,82819.76%
Bandeira de Santa Catarina.svg Santa Catarina 7,610,361613,0758.06%
Bandeira do estado de Sao Paulo.svg São Paulo 44,411,2385,928,58713.35%
Bandeira de Sergipe.svg Sergipe 2,210,004288,15113.04%
Bandeira do Tocantins.svg Tocantins 1,511,460288,48219.09%
Flag of Brazil.svg  Brazil 203,080,75634,030,10416.76%

In the North Region, the surname Silva is very widespread, with significant percentages in all states. In Acre, more than a quarter of the population (27.74%) bears this surname, while in Amazonas and Amapá the percentages are 18.79% and 17.06%, respectively. High values are also recorded in Pará (19.62%), Rondônia (16.24%), Roraima (19.76%), and Tocantins (19.09%), confirming a strong presence of the surname in the northern part of Brazil, where there are more than 3.2 million people named Silva in total.

In the Northeast Region, the surname Silva reaches some of the highest percentages in Brazil. The states with the greatest concentration are Alagoas (35.75%) and Pernambuco (34.23%), followed by Paraíba (28.18%) and Rio Grande do Norte (27.84%). In Maranhão and Piauí, approximately one in every four inhabitants is a Silva (23.34% and 23.59%, respectively), while in Bahia, the most populous state in the region, there are more than 2.4 million people with this surname (17.59%). These figures indicate that the Northeast represents the true historical and cultural epicenter of the Silva surname in Brazil.

In the Central-West Region, the surname maintains a significant presence, though with slightly lower percentages. In Goiás, 17.02% of the population bears the surname Silva, while in Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul the percentages are 17.80% and 14.51%. In the Federal District, 13.88% of residents are Silva. Altogether, nearly 2.6 million inhabitants of the Central-West share this surname.

In the Southeast Region, the most populous in the country, the surname Silva remains one of the most common, although with more moderate percentages compared to the Northeast. In Minas Gerais, 3.1 million people (15.40%) bear the surname; in São Paulo, Brazil’s largest state, the number exceeds 5.9 million (13.35%). In Rio de Janeiro, 2.5 million inhabitants (15.67%) share the surname, while in Espírito Santo the proportion is 11.72%. Altogether, around 12.5 million people named Silva live in the Southeast Region.

In the South Region, the percentages are the lowest, but the surname remains among the most widespread. In Paraná, nearly 1.1 million people (9.93%) are Silva, while in Rio Grande do Sul the percentage reaches 10.48%. In Santa Catarina, however, only 8.06% of the population bears this surname—the lowest proportion in Brazil. Altogether, the South Region has around 2.3 million inhabitants with the surname Silva.

At the national level, the surname Silva is the most common in all of Brazil, with 34,030,104 people, representing 16.76% of the total population. Its distribution across all regions reflects the Portuguese origins of the surname and its deep roots in Brazil’s history and demographic formation. In practice, approximately one in every six Brazilians bears the surname Silva, making it a distinctive symbol of national identity.

Arts

Actors

Musicians

Painters and sculptors

Writers

First name
Surname

Other arts

Historical figures

Judiciary

Media

Political and military figures

Religion

Scholars

Sports

Many people on this list are not generally known as Silva. [9]

Auto racing

Basketball

Beach volleyball

Cricket

Football

Brazil

Male international players
Female international players
Others

Colombia

Croatia

England

Equatorial Guinea

France

Paraguay

Portugal

Spain

Sri Lanka

Uruguay

Managers and referees

Martial arts

Track and field

Other sports

Other professions

Fictional characters

See also

References

  1. ↑ Saiba quais são os 3 sobrenomes mais comuns em 64 diferentes países. Archived 2013-08-17 at the Wayback Machine .
  2. ↑ © 2005 SOCIEDADE PORTUGUESA DE INFORMAÇÃO ECONÓMICA S.A. – SPIE (in Portuguese).
  3. ↑ Os 100 Apelidos mais frequentes da População Portuguesa Archived 2013-02-28 at the Wayback Machine (in Portuguese).
  4. ↑ O ProJovem é Silva, Santos... Archived 2013-10-17 at the Wayback Machine (in Portuguese).
  5. ↑ Descubra como surgiram os Silva, os Araújo, os Fernandes, os Batista, os Carneiro... Archived 2013-10-22 at the Wayback Machine (in Portuguese).
  6. ↑ Number of da Silva in France
  7. 1 2 3 "Nomes no Brasil: Silva (sobrenome)". Censo 2022 IBGE. Retrieved 8 November 2025.
  8. ↑ "Silva, Mac". The Dictionary of Sydney . Retrieved 26 September 2022.
  9. ↑ In Brazil, sportspeople, especially footballers, are frequently referred to by their apelido/alcunha, a one- or two-word appellation that may be part of their real name or a nickname. For example, Roberto Carlos da Silva is better known as Roberto Carlos, Marta Vieira da Silva as Marta, José Roberto da Silva Júnior as Zé Roberto, and Nélson de Jesus Silva as Dida. Ayrton Senna da Silva is a slightly different case; he chose to be known professionally by his mother's family name of Senna.

Bibliography

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