Silas
2025 SSA
2025 SSA
About Silas
Sleek and smart, with a hint of mystique about it, Silas is a recent addition to the US Top 100. Both mythological and Biblical in origin, Silas joins the ranks of Isaiah, Atlas, Elias, and Sebastian: polished and contemporary feeling names with plenty of history.
The origins of Silas are debated or perhaps multiple. On one hand, it could a simplified form of the Latin Silvanus, meaning "of the forest."
In Roman mythology, Silvanus was the god of trees, and his name was originally bestowed on those who lived in forested areas or who worked with wood. This could bring either a hardy, outdoorsy ruggedness to the name or something more mystical, dark, and intriguing.
On the other hand, Silas could be a Greek form of the Aramaic Seila or of the Hebrew Saul, meaning "asked for" or "prayed for".
Its Biblical roots can then be traced to either Saul, the first King of Israel, or to a companion of Paul the Apostle. Later venerated as a saint, Silas was a leading member of the early Christian community, who accompanied Paul on his second missionary journey.
Given as an English name from the 17th century onwards, Silas has a rich literary history. Notably used by George Eliot in Silas Marner and by Dan Brown in The Da Vinci Code, Sheridan Le Fanu, Charles Dickens, Robert Frost, Willaim D. Howell, Neil Gaiman, and Mark Twain have also featured a Silas in their work.
A longstanding favorite and one of the most searched names on Nameberry, in the ‘real world’, Silas had mostly lingered towards the lower end of the US Top 1000 in the 20th century.
It did gain some attention in the Netherlands, Denmark, and Switzerland in the 2000’s, but it took until the 2010’s for it to make significant moves in the US. Now, it is trending upwards and given to nearly 4000 babies each year.
Based on its Nameberry popularity, its status as ancient but still fresh, and its similarity in sound or style to popular Elijah, Isaac, Lucas, and Samuel, Silas could continue to climb the charts.
If you love it, but don’t want to be part of the crowd, you could consider one of Silas’s relatives, such as Sylvan, Sylvester, or Sylvius; alternatively, Linus, Rufus, Caius, Laurence, or Ozias might appeal as less popular options.
Silas is also given to girls, where it ranks #12991 in the US.
Pronounced SY-lus.
As of October 2026, Silas ranked #71 in US births in 2025 SSA, Nameberry popularity #1.
Popularity & trends
Data table
| Year | US rank | Births | Per million |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | #137 | 2,934 | 1,527.4 |
| 2015 | #128 | 3,191 | 1,664.8 |
| 2016 | #119 | 3,416 | 1,800 |
| 2017 | #120 | 3,338 | 1,803.4 |
| 2018 | #110 | 3,516 | 1,936 |
| 2019 | #105 | 3,564 | 1,986.4 |
| 2020 | #100 | 3,642 | 2,110 |
| 2021 | #91 | 3,912 | 2,236.1 |
| 2022 | #88 | 4,025 | 2,305.3 |
| 2023 | #81 | 4,097 | 2,395.1 |
| 2024 | #81 | 4,108 | 2,384.4 |
| 2025 | #71 | 4,639 | 2,715.9 |
World rankings
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Silas on lists
Famous Silass
- Silas DeaneBoy
American politician and diplomat
- Silas HouseBoy
American writer
- Silas Weir MitchellBoy
American physician and writer
- Silas Weir MitchellBoy
American actor (named after the above)
- Silas "Si" RobertsonBoy
American reality TV personality ("Duck Dynasty")
- Jason Silas "Jase" RobertsonBoy
American reality TV personality (Duck Dynasty")
- Silas WrightBoy
American politician, 14th governor of New York
- Paulo Silas do Prado Pereira aka SilasBoy
Brazilian football manager
- Silas WoodBoy
U.S. Congressman from New York
- Silas TalbotBoy
commander of the U.S.S. Constitution during the American Revolution
- Silas Watt (b. 2007)Boy
son of racing driver Jason Watt
- Silas Randall Timberlake (b. 2015)Boy
son of singer/actor Justin Timberlake and Jessica Biel
- Silas Jude Eubanks (b. 2015)Boy
son of Megan McConnell and Chase Eubanks of TV's "16 and Pregnant"
Silas in pop culture
- Silas BlissettBoy
character in British soap "Hollyoaks"
- Silas BotwinBoy
Nancy's son on TV's "Weeds"
- "Silas Marner: The Weaver of RaveloeBoy
" novel by George Eliot
- Silas HeapBoy
character in the "Septimus Heap" book series by Angie Sage
- SilasBoy
character in Dan Brown's "The Da Vinci Code"
- SilasBoy
character in "Sisters Red" by Jackson Pearce
- SilasBoy
the first immortal being on TV's "The Vampire Diaries"
- Silas WeggBoy
one,legged blackmailer in "Our Mutual Friend"
- SilasBoy
hired man in Robert Frost's poem "Death of the Hired Man"
- Silas RuthynBoy
character in "Uncle Silas" by Sheridan Le Fanu
- GreatBoy
Uncle Silas, character in "My Uncle Silas" (1939) by H. E. Bates
- SilasBoy
the vampire in Neil Gaiman's "The Graveyard Book"
- Silas Q. ScuddamoreBoy
wealthy American in "The Suicide Club" by Robert Louis Stevenson
- Colonel Silas LaphamBoy
businessman & social climber in "The Rise of Silas Lapham" (1885)
- "Swan Lee (Silas Lang)"Boy
song by Syd Barrett
- Silas HendershotBoy
character in movie "The Final Storm"
- SilasBoy
character in animated series "Transformers: Prime"
- Silas SugwashBoy
character in Jenny Nimmo's "The Children of the Red King" series
- Silas PhelpsBoy
uncle to Tom Sawyer in "The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn," by Mark Twain
- SilasBoy
main character in "Origin" by Liam Holt
- SilasBoy
character in the video games "Fire Emblem Fates"
- SilasBoy
character in the movie "Equals"
- SilasBoy
one of the villains in 'The Vampire Diaries'
- Silas ScratchBoy
antagonist of "Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Old School," by Jeff Kinney