Sylvia (given name)

Sylvia is a feminine given name of Latin origin, also spelled Silvia. The French form is Sylvie. The name originates from the Latin word for forest Silva and its meaning is spirit of the wood. The mythological god of the forest was associated with the figure of Silvanus.

William Shakespeare imported 'Silvia' to England. Silvia is the protagonist in the Shakespearean poem: Who is Silvia? Today, Silvia is the more modern spelling of the name Sylvia. In Roman mythology, Silvia is the goddess of the forest while Rea Silvia was the mother of Romulus and Remus. Silvia is also the name of one of the female innamorati of the commedia dell'arte and is a character of the Aminta written by Torquato Tasso. Sylvia (that spelling) was the 137th most popular girl's name in Britain in 1900.

People

 * Saint Silvia
 * Sylvia (singer) (born 1956), American country singer born Sylvia Jane Kirby
 * Silvia Agüero (born 1985), Spanish Roma feminist writer and human rights activist
 * Sylvia Anderson (1927–2016), British voice artist and film producer
 * Sylvia Rose Ashby (1908–1978), Australian market-researcher
 * Sylvia Ashton-Warner (1908–1984), New Zealand writer, poet and educator
 * Sylvia Bermann (1922–2012), Argentine psychiatrist, public health specialist, essayist, and montenero
 * Sylvia Browne (1936–2013), American psychic
 * Silvia Cartwright (born 1943), Governor-General of New Zealand
 * Sylvia Chang (born 1953), Taiwanese actress, producer and director
 * Sylvia Chase (1938–2019), American broadcast journalist
 * Sylvia Constantinidis (born 1962), Venezuelan-American pianist, conductor and composer
 * Sylvia Crawley (born 1972), American basketball player
 * Sylvia Day (born 1973), American romance writer
 * Sylvia Earle (born 1935), American oceanographer and aquanaut
 * Sylvia Martínez Elizondo (1947–2020), Mexican politician
 * Sylvia Esterby, Canadian statistician
 * Sylvia Fernando (1904–1983), Sri Lankan educator and family planning advocate
 * Sylvia Gray (1909–1991), English businessperson
 * Sylwia Gruchała (born 1981), Polish fencer
 * Sylvia Hanika (born 1959), German tennis player
 * Sylvia La Torre (1933–2022), Filipina singer and actress
 * Sylvia Laughter (1950s-2022), American politician
 * Sylvia Likens (1949–1965), American female murder victim
 * Sylvia McNair (born 1956), American singer
 * Sylvia Mendez (born 1936), American civil rights activist
 * Sylvia Molloy (writer) (1938–2022), Argentine academic and writer
 * Silvia Monfort (1923–1991), French actress
 * Sylvia Namutebi, Uganda beauty pageant titleholder
 * Sylvia Pankhurst (1882–1960), British suffragette and Marxist
 * Sylvia Pedlar (1900–1972), American lingerie designer
 * Silvia Pinal (born 1931), Mexican actress
 * Sylvia Plath (1932–1963), American confessional poet
 * Sylvia Poggioli (born 1946), Radio news anchor
 * Sylvia Ratonel (born 1988), Singaporean singer and spokesmodel
 * Sylvia Rivera (1951–2002), American transgender activist
 * Sylvia Robinson (1935–2011), American rhythm & blues singer, member of Mickey & Sylvia, and record label executive
 * Sylvia Ruuska (1942–2019), American medley and freestyle swimmer
 * Sylvia Sanchez, (born 1971 as Josette Campo), Filipino actress
 * Sylvia Schofield (1916–2006), British writer and traveller
 * Sylvia Siddell (1941–2011), New Zealand artist
 * Sylvia Sidney (1910–1999), American actress
 * Sylvia Sleigh (1916–2010), Welsh-American painter
 * Sylvia Swayne (born 1997), American politician
 * Sylvia Syms (1934–2023), English actress
 * Sylvia Thalberg (1907–1988), American screenwriter
 * Sylvia Tyson (born 1940), Canadian musician, performer, singer-songwriter and broadcaster
 * Sylvie Vartan (born 1944), Bulgarian-French singer and actress
 * Silvia Vasquez-Lavado (born 1974), Peruvian-American explorer, mountaineer, social entrepreneur and technologist
 * Silvia Rodríguez Villamil (1939–2003), Uruguayan historian, feminist, writer, activist
 * Sylvia Vrethammar (born 1945), Swedish singer
 * Sylvia Wene (1928–2013), American ten-pin bowler
 * Sylvia Weve (born 1954), Dutch illustrator
 * Queen Silvia of Sweden

Fictional characters

 * Sylvia, the character played by Anita Ekberg in the Italian film La Dolce Vita (1960)
 * Sylvia, the character voiced by Kristen Johnston in the American animated film Ice Age (2002)
 * Sylvia, character in the animated series Wander Over Yonder
 * Sylvia, the protagonist in the short story A White Heron by Sarah Orne Jewett
 * Sylvia Costas, Assistant District Attorney in the American television drama NYPD Blue
 * Sylvia Fine, the character played by Renee Taylor in the television series The Nanny
 * Sylvia Goodwin, the mother of Roy Cropper in the ITV soap opera Coronation Street
 * Sylvia Hollamby Character in the ITV prison drama Bad Girls (TV series) played by Helen Fraser
 * Sylvia Lyyneheym, a character in the light novel and anime of The Asterisk War
 * Sylvia Noble, a character from British science fiction TV series Doctor Who
 * Sylvia Rosen, a neighbor who is friendly with Don and Megan Draper in Mad Men (season 6)