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Silva

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
For other uses, see Silva (disambiguation).
Silva
Origin
MeaningForest, Woodland or Jungle
Region of originPortugal, 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.

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

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Location Population [7] Population with the surname Silva[7] % of the population with the surname Silva[7]
Acre 830,018 230,212 27.74%
Alagoas 3,127,683 1,118,138 35.75%
Amapá 733,759 125,176 17.06%
Amazonas 3,941,613 740,534 18.79%
Bahia 1,414,1626 2,487,204 17.59%
Ceará 8,794,957 1,692,868 19.25%
Distrito Federal 2,817,381 390,958 13.88%
Espírito Santo 3,833,712 449,433 11.72%
Goiás 7,056,495 1,200,731 17.02%
Maranhão 6,776,699 1,581,757 23.34%
Mato Grosso 3,658,649 651,323 17.80%
Mato Grosso do Sul 2,757,013 400,162 14.51%
Minas Gerais 20,539,989 3,162,886 15.40%
Pará 8,120,131 1,593,312 19.62%
Paraíba 3,974,687 1,120,148 28.18%
Paraná 11,444,380 1,136,394 9.93%
Pernambuco 9,058,931 3,100,715 34.23%
Piauí 3,271,199 771,651 23.59%
Rio de Janeiro 16,055,174 2,515,895 15.67%
Rio Grande do Norte 3,302,729 919,522 27.84%
Rio Grande do Sul 10,882,965 1,140,167 10.48%
Rondônia 1,581,196 256,795 16.24%
Roraima 636,707 125,828 19.76%
Santa Catarina 7,610,361 613,075 8.06%
São Paulo 44,411,238 5,928,587 13.35%
Sergipe 2,210,004 288,151 13.04%
Tocantins 1,511,460 288,482 19.09%
 Brazil 203,080,756 34,030,104 16.76%

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

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Actors

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Musicians

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Painters and sculptors

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Writers

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First name
  • Silva Kaputikyan (1919–2006), Armenian poet, writer, academician and public activist
Surname

Other arts

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Historical figures

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Judiciary

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  • Eurico da Silva (1933–2025), Indian judge of the High Court of Bombay
  • Janak de Silva, Sri Lankan puisne justice of the Supreme Court (since 2020)

Media

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Political and military figures

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Religion

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Scholars

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Sports

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

Auto racing

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Basketball

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Beach volleyball

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Cricket

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Football

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Brazil

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Male international players
Female international players
Others

Colombia

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Croatia

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England

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Equatorial Guinea

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France

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Paraguay

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Portugal

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Spain

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Sri Lanka

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Uruguay

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Managers and referees

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Martial arts

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Track and field

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Other sports

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Other professions

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Fictional characters

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See also

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References

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  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. ^ a b c "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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  • BOUZA ZERRANO, José. Da Descendência de Don Francisco Prieto Gayoso'. Edição do Autor, 1ª Edição, Lisboa, 1980.
  • COROMINES, Joan. Onomasticon Cataloniæ (vol. I-VIII). Barcelona: 1994.
  • SOUSA, Manuel de. As origens dos apelidos das famílias portuguesas. Sporpress, 2001.
  • TÁVORA, D. Luis de Lancastre e. Dicionário das Famílias Portuguesas. Quetzal Editores, 2ª Edição, Lisboa, pág. 324.
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