Sylvester

Sylvester or Silvester is a name derived from the Latin adjective silvestris meaning "wooded" or "wild", which derives from the noun silva meaning "woodland". Classical Latin spells this with i. In Classical Latin, y represented a separate sound distinct from i, not a native Latin sound but one used in transcriptions of foreign words. After the Classical period y was pronounced as i. Spellings with Sylv- in place of Silv- date from after the Classical period.

Given name

 * Sylvester of Marsico (c. 1100–1162), Count of Marsico in the Kingdom of Sicily
 * Silvester Ashioya (born 1948), Kenyan hockey player
 * Silvester Bolam (1905–1953), British newspaper editor
 * Silvester Brito (1937–2018), American poet and academic
 * Sylvester Croom (born 1954), American football coach and former player
 * Silvester Diggles (1817–1880), Australian musician and ornithologist
 * Silvester Fernandes (born 1936), Kenyan hockey player
 * Silvester Gardiner (1708–1786), American physician etc.
 * Silvester Goraseb (born 1974), Namibian footballer
 * Sylvester Graham (1794–1851), Presbyterian minister, father of graham crackers
 * Silvester Harding (1745–1809), English artist and publisher
 * Silvester Horne (1865–1914), Congregational minister
 * Sylvester James Jr. (1947–1988), also known as Sylvester, a singer and disco performer
 * Silvester Johnson (1813–1889), Kentucky merchant and politician
 * Silvester Knipfer (1939–2010), German sports shooter
 * Sylvester Levay (born 1954), Hungarian musician
 * Sylvester McCoy (born 1943), Scottish actor
 * Silvester Mirabal (1864–1939), American farmer and statesman
 * Sylvester Mittee (born 1956), Saint Lucian/British boxer of the 1970s and '80s
 * Silvester Sabolčki (1979–2003), Croatian footballer
 * Silvester Sedborough (1515/16–1551), member of parliament
 * Silvester Šereš (1918–2000), Hungarian-Yugoslav footballer
 * Silvester Shkalla (born 1995), Albanian footballer
 * Sylvester Stallone (born 1946), American actor
 * Sylvester Stewart (born 1943), or Sly Stone, musician and record producer, best known as the frontman for Sly and the Family Stone
 * Silvester Takač (born 1940), Serbian-Yugoslavian footballer and football manager
 * Sylvester Terkay (born 1970), American professional wrestler
 * John Silvester Varley (born 1956), English banker
 * Silvester van der Water (born 1996), Dutch footballer

Clergy

 * Antipope Sylvester IV, a claimant from 1105 to 1111
 * Pope Sylvester I (died 335), Saint Sylvester
 * Pope Sylvester II (c. 946–1003)
 * Pope Sylvester III (died 1062 or 1063)
 * Silvester de Everdon (died 1254), bishop and Lord Chancellor
 * Sylvester Gozzolini (1177–1267), saint and founder of the Sylvestrines religious order
 * Silvester Jenks (1656–1714), English priest and theologian
 * Silvester Petra Sancta (1590–1647), Italian priest and herald
 * Patriarch Silvester of Alexandria (fl. 1569–1590)
 * Sylvester of Assisi (died 1240), companion of Saint Francis of Assisi
 * Sylvester of Antioch, 18th century Greek bishop
 * Sylvester of Kiev (c. 1055–1123), clergyman and writer in Kievan Rus
 * Silvester of Troina (died 1185), Basilian monk
 * Silvester of Valdiseve (1278–1348), monk
 * Sylvester of Worcester, early 13th century Bishop of Worcester
 * Sylvester (priest), 15th-century priest of the Cathedral of the Annunciation and close advisor to Ivan IV

Surname

 * Silvester baronets
 * Andy Silvester (born 1947), British bassist and multi-instrumentalist
 * Attila Silvester, Greek choreographer
 * Charles Sylvester, English chemist and inventor
 * Dean Sylvester, American hockey player
 * David Silvester (born 1958), Scottish numerical analyst
 * David Sylvester (medievalist), Canadian medieval historian
 * Debbie Silvester (born 20th century), British-Australian chemist and professor
 * Flor Silvester (1923–2008), Dutch graphic designer etc.
 * Fred Silvester (born 1933), former British politician
 * Frederick C. Silvester (1901–1966), British organist and composer
 * Hannah Sylvester (c. 1900–1973), American blues singer
 * Harold Sylvester, American film and television actor
 * James Joseph Sylvester, English mathematician
 * Jarrod Silvester (born 1965), Australian rules footballer
 * Jay Silvester (born 1937), American athlete
 * John Silvester (disambiguation)
 * Joshua Sylvester, English poet
 * Marc Sylvester, American middle-distance runner
 * Michael Silvester (born 1998), Irish rugby union player
 * Michael Sylvester (politician), American politician and labor organizer
 * Michael Sylvester (tenor), American opera-singer
 * Mike Sylvester, an Italian-American basketball player
 * Nigel Sylvester, American professional BMX athlete
 * Paul J. Silvester (born 1963), American white collar criminal
 * Peter Silvester (disambiguation)
 * Philip Carteret Silvester (1777–1828), 2nd Baronet
 * Rick Sylvester, American stuntman
 * Robin Sylvester, English musician
 * Sarah Morgan-Silvester (born 1959), Canadian university chancellor
 * Sherry Sylvester, American political worker and journalist
 * Stephen Silvester (born 1951), English cricketer
 * Victor Silvester (1900–1978), English musician and bandleader
 * Walter Sylvester (1867–1944), English inventor
 * William Sylvester, American TV and film actor
 * William Henry Thomas Sylvester, English army officer and surgeon

Mononym

 * Sylvester (singer) (1947–1988), full name Sylvester James Jr., a singer and disco performer

Fictional characters

 * Bear Sylvester, a character on the BBC soap opera Doctors
 * Sylvester, a character in the 1990 American action comedy movie Kindergarten Cop
 * Sylvester the Cat, a Looney Tunes character
 * Sylvester Junior, a son of Sylvester J. Pussycat, Sr.
 * Sylvester, a donkey in the children's book Sylvester and the Magic Pebble
 * Sylvester, a main character in the series Trapped in the Closet
 * Sylvester Rax, an antagonist in the 1985 animated show M.A.S.K. (TV series)
 * Sylvester McMonkey McBean, a character in the Dr. Seuss book The Sneetches and Other Stories
 * Sue Sylvester, a main character on the Fox sitcom Glee