Contents [hide]

Silver History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables Ranking

United States Canada Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Related Stories Suggested Reading Citations

Silver History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
England
Germany

The roots of the distinguished German surname Silver lie in the region of Hessen. The name literally means "silver," and was most likely originally borne by a silversmith.

Early Origins of the Silver family

The surname Silver was first found in Hessen, where the name was closely identified in early mediaeval times with the feudal society which would become prominent throughout European history. The name would later emerge as a noble family with great influence, having many distinguished branches, and become noted for its involvement in social, economic and political affairs. The earliest recorded variant of the name was Silberer, borne by a resident of Esslingen in 1279.

Early History of the Silver family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Silver research. Another 152 words (11 lines of text) covering the years 1633, 1640, 1678, 1683, 1734, 1753 and 1828 are included under the topic Early Silver History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Silver Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Silbermann, Silberman, Silver, Silber, Suelber, Suelver, Silberer, Silbert, Sylver, Sylvermann, Sylverman, Silvermann, Silverman, Sylber, Silvernail and many more.

Early Notables of the Silver family

Another 42 words (3 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Silver Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Silver Ranking

In the United States, the name Silver is the 1,424^th most popular surname with an estimated 22,383 people with that name. 1

Silver migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Silver Settlers in United States in the 17th Century

Thomas Silver, who landed in Ipswich, Massachusetts in 1637 2
Mary Silver, who arrived in Virginia in 1643 2
Nicholas Silver, who arrived in Maryland or Virginia in 1674 2
Archibald Silver, a Scottish Quaker who settled in West New Jersey in 1680

Silver Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

John Silver, who settled in Virginia in 1743
Isaac Silver, who settled in Maryland in 1760
James Silver, who immigrated to Boston in 1765

Silver Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

John Antonio Silver, who arrived in Savanna(h), Georgia in 1815 2
Jose Silver, aged 25, who landed in New Orleans, La in 1831 2
M Silver, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1850 2
John Silver, who landed in San Francisco, California in 1851 2
S Silver, who arrived in San Francisco, California in 1855 2
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Silver migration to Canada +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Silver Settlers in Canada in the 18th Century

Michael Silver, who immigrated to Nova Scotia in 1752
Louisa Silver, who arrived in Nova Scotia in 1757
Michel Silver, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1757
Nicholas, I Silver, who landed in Nova Scotia in 1757

Silver migration to Australia +

Emigration to Australia followed the First Fleets of convicts, tradespeople and early settlers. Early immigrants include:

Silver Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

John Silver, English convict from Suffolk, who was transported aboard the "Arab" on February 22, 1834, settling in Van Diemen's Land, Australia 3

Silver migration to New Zealand +

Emigration to New Zealand followed in the footsteps of the European explorers, such as Captain Cook (1769-70): first came sealers, whalers, missionaries, and traders. By 1838, the British New Zealand Company had begun buying land from the Maori tribes, and selling it to settlers, and, after the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, many British families set out on the arduous six month journey from Britain to Aotearoa to start a new life. Early immigrants include:

Silver Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

Frederick Silver, aged 29, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Bebington" in 1876

Silver migration to West Indies +

The British first settled the British West Indies around 1604. They made many attempts but failed in some to establish settlements on the Islands including Saint Lucia and Grenada. By 1627 they had managed to establish settlements on St. Kitts (St. Christopher) and Barbados, but by 1641 the Spanish had moved in and destroyed some of these including those at Providence Island. The British continued to expand the settlements including setting the First Federation in the British West Indies by 1674; some of the islands include Barbados, Bermuda, Cayman Island, Turks and Caicos, Jamaica and Belize then known as British Honduras. By the 1960's many of the islands became independent after the West Indies Federation which existed from 1958 to 1962 failed due to internal political conflicts. After this a number of Eastern Caribbean islands formed a free association. 4

Silver Settlers in West Indies in the 18th Century

Alexander Silver, who emigrated from Scotland to Jamaica in 1730

Contemporary Notables of the name Silver (post 1700) +

Stu Silver (1947-2023), American Primetime Emmy Award nominated screenwriter and television writer, best known for Throw Momma from the Train, Webster, It's a Living, Bosom Buddies and Soap
Leon Theodore "Lee" Silver (1925-2022), American professor of geology at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), an instructor to the Apollo 13, 15, 16, and 17 astronaut crews, member of the United States National Academy of Sciences in 1974
Spencer Ferguson Silver (1941-2021), American chemist, co-inventor of Post-it notes in 1974, inducted into the National Inventors Hall of Fame in 2010
Warren M. Silver (b. 1948), American lawyer and jurist, State Supreme Court Justice in Maine
Thomas B. Silver (1947-2001), American author and scholar, President of the Claremont Institute
Sheldon "Shelly" Silver (b. 1944), American politician, 119th Speaker of the New York State Assembly (1994-2015), Member of the New York State Assembly (2013-2015)
Monroe Silver (1875-1947), American actor and singer, known for his monologues using a Jewish dialect-accent
Joseph "Joe" Silver (1922-1989), American stage, television, film and radio actor from Chicago, Illinois
Ronald Arthur "Ron" Silver (1946-2009), American Tony award winning actor, director, producer, radio host and political activist
Philip Silver (1909-1999), American philatelist, known for his collection of air mail stamps, inducted into American Philatelic Society Hall of Fame in 2002
... (Another 9 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
Filby, P. William, Meyer, Mary K., Passenger and immigration lists index : a guide to published arrival records of about 500,000 passengers who came to the United States and Canada in the seventeenth, eighteenth, and nineteenth centuries. 1982-1985 Cumulated Supplements in Four Volumes Detroit, Mich. : Gale Research Co., 1985, Print (ISBN 0-8103-1795-8)
State Library of Queensland. (Retrieved 2015, January 8) Arab voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1834 with 230 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/arab/1834
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies