Sylvester

maleStatistical record

What official birth registration shows about Sylvester: which national registrars published it, in which years, and how its recorded position changed.

No researched meaning, origin or pronunciation yet — what that means.

Sylvester: Recorded since 1964, its highest recorded position is #148, and it stood at #2,443 in 2024.

2registrars recorded it
47times a registrar ranked it
61years from first to last
#148highest recorded position
9groupings it qualifies for

Region

Falling

among boys in England and Wales · 1996–2024

View as table

England and Wales · Boys rank by year
Year	Rank
1996	#2020
1997	#2859
1999	#2943
2001	#2220
2002	#2636
2003	#1962
2004	#3009
2005	#2418
2006	#2538
2007	#2435
2008	#2775
2009	#2544
2010	#4678
2011	#1688
2012	#2721
2013	#2216
2014	#2690
2015	#1586
2016	#2556
2017	#2172
2018	#1991
2019	#1869
2020	#1825
2021	#1290
2022	#1879
2023	#1407
2024	#2443

VerifiedSource: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales.Confidence: high.

See all England and Wales names · Source: Office for National Statistics — Baby Names in England and Wales

What the data shows

FallingEngland and Wales · Boys

Recorded in official data among boys in England and Wales in 27 of the 29 years from 1996 to 2024.

Official data from 2 national registrars across 2 regions, 1964–2024 · Office for National Statistics. Data sources

Popularity journey

First recorded1964
First recorded at #181 among boys in Republic of Ireland in 1964 — the earliest year that source publishes this name, not necessarily the earliest it was used.
Republic of Ireland · Boys
Highest recorded1964–1992
Highest recorded position: #148 among boys in Republic of Ireland, in 1965 (recorded 1964–1992).
Republic of Ireland · Boys
Most recent2024
Most recently recorded at #2443 among boys in England and Wales, in 2024.
England and Wales · Boys

Sylvester appears in 2 of the published lists Namewise holds. The longest record is England and Wales · Boys, with 27 ranked years and 229 births registered; the earliest is Republic of Ireland · Boys, from 1964.

Sylvester across 2 official records

Each registrar publishes its own list, so these figures are read down a row, never across one. A position in one country is not comparable with a position in another, and Namewise never combines them into a single ranking. The birth counts do not compare across rows either, for a different reason: England and Wales registers roughly thirty times as many births a year as Northern Ireland, so a larger total says which registrar recorded it as much as how widely the name was given.

Sylvester's first, highest and most recent recorded position in each official list, with the number of births each registrar registered with the name and its largest single year
Published list	First recorded	Highest	Most recent	Years recorded	Births registered	Most in one year
England and Wales · Boys	#2020 (1996)	#1290 (2021)	#2443 (2024)	27 of 29	229 (1996–2024)	20 (2021)
Republic of Ireland · Boys	#181 (1964)	#148 (1965)	#298 (1992)	20 of 29	117 (1964–1992)	12 (1965)

Sylvester by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Births registered with the name in each decade of this one list, with the number of years the list covers in that decade. Bars are scaled on births a year, which is the figure that compares between decades — a decade the list only partly covers has a smaller total without being a quieter decade. Figures belong to this registrar alone and do not carry to another.

Births registered with Sylvester in England and Wales · Boys, by decade, with years covered and the average per year
Decade	Births registered	Years covered	A year
1990s	11	3 of 10	4
2000s	52	9 of 10	6
2010s	95	10 of 10	10
2020sbusiest	71	5 of 10	14

Across England and Wales · Boys, the 2020s were its busiest decade — the 5 years of it this list covers, averaging 14 births a year.

See the names England and Waleshas recorded the most births with →

Sylvester appears in

Groupings this name qualifies for under their own stated rules, from the same official statistics shown above.

Popularity data

Official popularity data is available for 2 regions, from 1964 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #148 in Republic of Ireland in 1965.

Sylvester's recorded popularity observations by year, region and administrative category, including rank, registered births, source confidence and when each region's data was last reviewed.
Year	Region	Category	Rank	Births registered	Confidence	Status
2024	England and Wales	male	#2443	9	High	Verified
2023	England and Wales	male	#1407	18	High	Verified
2022	England and Wales	male	#1879	12	High	Verified
2021	England and Wales	male	#1290	20	High	Verified
2020	England and Wales	male	#1825	12	High	Verified
2019	England and Wales	male	#1869	12	High	Verified
2018	England and Wales	male	#1991	11	High	Verified
2017	England and Wales	male	#2172	10	High	Verified
2016	England and Wales	male	#2556	8	High	Verified
2015	England and Wales	male	#1586	15	High	Verified
2014	England and Wales	male	#2690	7	High	Verified
2013	England and Wales	male	#2216	9	High	Verified
2012	England and Wales	male	#2721	7	High	Verified
2011	England and Wales	male	#1688	13	High	Verified
2010	England and Wales	male	#4678	3	High	Verified
2009	England and Wales	male	#2544	7	High	Verified
2008	England and Wales	male	#2775	6	High	Verified
2007	England and Wales	male	#2435	7	High	Verified
2006	England and Wales	male	#2538	6	High	Verified
2005	England and Wales	male	#2418	6	High	Verified
2004	England and Wales	male	#3009	4	High	Verified
2003	England and Wales	male	#1962	7	High	Verified
2002	England and Wales	male	#2636	4	High	Verified
2001	England and Wales	male	#2220	5	High	Verified
1999	England and Wales	male	#2943	3	High	Verified
1997	England and Wales	male	#2859	3	High	Verified
1996	England and Wales	male	#2020	5	High	Verified
1992	Republic of Ireland	male	#298	4	High	Verified
1990	Republic of Ireland	male	#323	3	High	Verified
1989	Republic of Ireland	male	#307	3	High	Verified
1983	Republic of Ireland	male	#330	3	High	Verified
1982	Republic of Ireland	male	#330	3	High	Verified
1981	Republic of Ireland	male	#246	6	High	Verified
1978	Republic of Ireland	male	#326	3	High	Verified
1976	Republic of Ireland	male	#241	6	High	Verified
1975	Republic of Ireland	male	#290	4	High	Verified
1974	Republic of Ireland	male	#227	8	High	Verified
1973	Republic of Ireland	male	#215	9	High	Verified
1972	Republic of Ireland	male	#238	6	High	Verified
1971	Republic of Ireland	male	#304	3	High	Verified
1970	Republic of Ireland	male	#197	9	High	Verified
1969	Republic of Ireland	male	#206	8	High	Verified
1968	Republic of Ireland	male	#197	7	High	Verified
1967	Republic of Ireland	male	#187	8	High	Verified
1966	Republic of Ireland	male	#219	5	High	Verified
1965	Republic of Ireland	male	#148	12	High	Verified
1964	Republic of Ireland	male	#181	7	High	Verified

England and Wales hub — collected by Office for National Statistics
Republic of Ireland hub — collected by CSO Ireland

See methodology and data sources for how popularity data is collected and what "confidence" means.

What the record shows

Recorded by 2 registrars between 1964 and 2024, ranked in 47 years of that period.

Its highest recorded position is #148, first reached in 1965.

Its largest count from any one registrar is 20 births, registered in England and Wales in 2021.

Its record falls into 8 separate stretches, with a longest absence of 5 years.

A second registrar first ranked it in 1996, and 32 years separate the first registrar to record it from the last.

Every figure here is counted from the seven official registrars Namewise holds. A position is only ever a place within the list that published it, and a record that thins or stops is a fact about what registrars printed — never about how many children received the name.

Where to go next

Records with a comparable body of evidence, so the catalogue can be read outward from this one. Each group states the rule it was selected by.

Next in the catalogue

The records either side of this one alphabetically.

Sylas · #2076, 10y
Sylvan · #2263, 14y
Sylvi · #94, 45y
Sylvia · #111, 81y

A comparable record

Records held by the same 2 registrars, over a similar number of ranked years, whose highest position is closest to this one. A similar body of evidence — never a claim that the names themselves are alike.

Finola · #149, 49y
Mattis · #152, 52y
Ambrose · #155, 46y
Clement · #156, 49y

Also first recorded in the 1960s

Records whose earliest ranking in Namewise's registrar data also falls between 1960 and 1969.

Krister · #148, 46y
Eunan · #147, 41y
Finola · #149, 49y
Manus · #147, 54y

Sylvester was ranked #148 in Republic of Ireland · Boys in 1965. These are the names immediately either side of it on that published list — a fact about the registrar's own output, not a similarity judgement.

Sylvester and the names beside it

Two names in the same published list are measured on the same scale, in the same year, by the same registrar — so these are positions that genuinely passed each other, not a similarity judgement. Drawn from the 2,573 names with a recorded popularity standing (common, familiar, uncommon), so a name outside that set could have passed Sylvester without appearing here.

Sylvester moved ahead of

Robyn Compare
In 2012 they stood at #4678 and #4678 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2013 that had become #2216 and #4685.
Tayla Compare
In 2012 they stood at #2544 and #2318 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2013 that had become #2216 and #4685.
Kim Compare
In 2011 they stood at #4678 and #3865 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2012 that had become #2721 and #4805.
Garry Compare
In 2013 they stood at #2216 and #2216 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2014 that had become #2690 and #4632.

Moved ahead of Sylvester

Tadhg Compare
In 1996 they stood at #2020 and #2357 in England and Wales · Boys; by 1997 that had become #2859 and #1174.
Aksel Compare
In 2023 they stood at #1407 and #1461 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2024 that had become #2443 and #1132.
Hunter Compare
In 2003 they stood at #1962 and #2857 in England and Wales · Boys; by 2004 that had become #3009 and #1878.
Hudson Compare
In 1996 they stood at #2020 and #2863 in England and Wales · Boys; by 1997 that had become #2859 and #1761.

Moved the opposite way to Sylvester

Andrew Compare
Between 1964 and 1992 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Sylvester went from #181 to #298 while Andrew went from #34 to #16.
Ciaran Compare
Between 1964 and 1992 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Sylvester went from #181 to #298 while Ciaran went from #49 to #24.
Conor Compare
Between 1964 and 1992 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Sylvester went from #181 to #298 while Conor went from #56 to #9.
Craig Compare
Between 1964 and 1992 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Sylvester went from #181 to #298 while Craig went from #214 to #44.

Moved the same way as Sylvester

Anthony Compare
Between 1964 and 1992 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Sylvester went from #181 to #298 and Anthony from #12 to #26.
Arthur Compare
Between 1964 and 1992 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Sylvester went from #181 to #298 and Arthur from #98 to #192.
Brendan Compare
Between 1964 and 1992 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Sylvester went from #181 to #298 and Brendan from #17 to #52.
Declan Compare
Between 1964 and 1992 in Republic of Ireland · Boys, Sylvester went from #181 to #298 and Declan from #23 to #61.

What's not yet available

Meaning
Origin
Pronunciation
Nicknames and spelling variants

Absence from this list does not mean the name isn't genuinely meaningful or widely used — only that Namewise hasn't sourced and reviewed that content yet. Absence from a specific year or geography above does not prove zero use there either; official statistics only publish names above a minimum threshold.

Official popularity data is available for 2 regions, from 1964 to 2024. Highest recorded position: #148 in Republic of Ireland in 1965. Source data last verified 2026-07-21.

Sylvester

Sylvester at a glance

What the data shows

Popularity journey

Sylvester across 2 official records

Sylvester by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Sylvester appears in

Popularity data

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1960s

Names published alongside Sylvester

Sylvester and the names beside it

Sylvester moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Sylvester

Moved the opposite way to Sylvester

Moved the same way as Sylvester

Sylvester at a glance

Sylvester across 2 official records

Sylvester by decade in England and Wales · Boys

Sylvester appears in

What the record shows

Where to go next

Next in the catalogue

A comparable record

Also first recorded in the 1960s

Names published alongside Sylvester

Sylvester and the names beside it

Sylvester moved ahead of

Moved ahead of Sylvester

Moved the opposite way to Sylvester

Moved the same way as Sylvester