Silas

Meaning of Silas

Silas, pronounced SY-luhs (/ˈsaɪləs/), is the Anglicized form of the Greek Σίλας, a contracted rendering of Silvanus—the Latin theonym denoting “of the forest” (silva, “woodland”)—and historically borne by the New-Testament missionary who accompanied Paul on several journeys, thus conferring an early Christian pedigree upon the appellation. Transplanted to English-speaking soil by seventeenth-century Nonconformists, the name persisted in colonial America, resurfaced in nineteenth-century letters through George Eliot’s Silas Marner, and, more recently, has been reinforced by television and cinematic characters, giving it a quietly versatile cultural profile. Quantitative evidence from the U.S. Social Security Administration indicates that, after hovering in the mid-500s for most of the twentieth century, Silas began a steady ascent in the mid-1990s, breached the Top 200 in 2011, entered the Top 100 in 2020, and currently occupies rank 80 with over four thousand annual newborn bearers—an upward trajectory that suggests sustained nationwide favor without crossing into ubiquity. The convergence of biblical gravitas, rustic etymology, and contemporary popularity renders Silas a choice that balances historical depth with modern accessibility in Anglo-American naming conventions.

Pronunciation

American English

• Pronunced as SY-luhs (/'saɪləs/)

• Elias
• Miles
• Jonah
• Simon
• Tobias
• Micah
• Cyrus