Contents [hide]

Silva History Early Origins Early History Spelling Variations Early Notables World Ranking

United States Australia New Zealand West Indies

Contemporary Notables Historic Events Related Stories Suggested Reading Citations

Silva History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Origins Available:
Portugal
Spain

From the historical and enchanting region of Spain emerged a multitude of noble families, including the distinguished Silva family. The original bearer of the name Silva, which is a local surname, once lived, held land, or was born in the beautiful region of Spain. In Spain, hereditary surnames were adopted according to fairly general rules and during the late Middle Ages, names that were derived from localities became increasingly widespread. Local names originally denoted the proprietorship of the village or estate. The Silva family originally lived in one of the numerous places named Silva, which are scattered throughout the provinces of Leon, Coruna, Lugo and Oviedo. The surname Silva was derived from the Latin word "silva," which meant "wood."

Early Origins of the Silva family

The surname Silva was first found in Leon and Galicia, important Christian kingdoms of mediaeval Spain.

Early History of the Silva family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Silva research. Another 69 words (5 lines of text) covering the year 1796 is included under the topic Early Silva History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Silva Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Silva, Silvera and others.

Early Notables of the Silva family

Prominent among bearers of the Silva family name at this time was

fourteenth century nobleman Ferrand de Silva
Pedro de Silva, a fifteenth century soldier of the Reconquest
Feliciano de Silva, sixteenth century Spanish novelist
sixteenth century Spanish politician, diplomat and writer Juan de Silva
seventeenth century Spanish politician and diplomat García de Silva y Figueroa
Diego de Silva y Mendoza, Count of Salinas, seventeenth century Spanish poet
eighteenth century Spanish painter and literary figure Mariana de Silva
María del Pilar Teresa Cayetana de Silva y Silva Alvarez de Toledo, Duchess of Alba, widow of José Alvarez de Toledo (died 1796), and the muse and model of Spanish court painter Francisco Goya
nineteenth century Colombian poet José Asunción Silva
nineteenth century Chilean military official Pedro Silva

Silva World Ranking

In the United States, the name Silva is the 254^th most popular surname with an estimated 104,454 people with that name. 1 However, in Canada, the name Silva is ranked the 631^st most popular surname with an estimated 8,212 people with that name. 2 And in France, the name Silva is the 1,171^st popular surname with an estimated 4,719 people with that name. 3 South America ranks Silva as 31^st with 108 people. 4

Silva migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Silva Settlers in United States in the 16th Century

Jerónimo de Silva, who immigrated to Peru in 1560
Diego de Silva, settled in Peru in 1561
María de Silva, moved to Hispaniola in 1562
Juan de Silva Correa, moved to Florida in 1563
Antonio de Silva, settled in New Spain in 1566

Silva Settlers in United States in the 18th Century

Antonio De Silva, who arrived in America in 1760-1763 5
Joze Roiz Silva, who landed in New York in 1792 5
John Roix Silva, who arrived in New York in 1792 5

Silva Settlers in United States in the 19th Century

Manuel Silva, who landed in Puerto Rico in 1803 5
Juan De Silva, who arrived in Puerto Rico in 1803 5
Pedro De Silva, who arrived in America in 1814 5
Maria Silva, who landed in Puerto Rico in 1816-1826 5
Jose Silva, who landed in Puerto Rico in 1816 5
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Silva migration to Australia +

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

Silva Settlers in Australia in the 19th Century

Manuel Silva, English convict from Middlesex, who was transported aboard the "Albion" on May 17, 1823, settling in Van Diemen's Land, Australia 6

Silva 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:

Silva Settlers in New Zealand in the 19th Century

R. Silva, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Abernyte" in 1876
H. Silva, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Ashmore" in 1881
Algernon Silva, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Ashmore" in 1881
Augustus Silva, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Ashmore" in 1881
Esther Silva, who arrived in Auckland, New Zealand aboard the ship "Ashmore" in 1881
... (More are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Silva 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. 7

Silva Settlers in West Indies in the 18th Century

Isaac Gomes Silva, who landed in Jamaica in 1742-1743 5
Joshua Gomez Silva, who landed in Jamaica in 1742 5

Silva Settlers in West Indies in the 19th Century

Jeronimo De Silva, who landed in Dominican Republic in 1834 5

Contemporary Notables of the name Silva (post 1700) +

Henry Silva (1926-2022), American actor, known for his roles as criminals or gangsters in films like Ocean's 11 (1960), The Manchurian Candidate (1962), Johnny Cool (1963), Sharky's Machine (1981), and Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai (1999)
Lyversa De Silva, American politician, Prohibition Candidate for New York State Assembly from New York County 3rd District, 1919; Prohibition Candidate for Presidential Elector for New York, 1920 8
Joseph R. De Silva, American Democratic Party politician, Alternate Delegate to Democratic National Convention from California, 1948, 1952, 1964 9
Daniel Silva (b. 1960), the best-selling American author
James Della Silva, American Democratic Party politician, Candidate for Alaska State Senate District M, 2000 10
José Reinaldo Azevedo e Silva (b. 1961), Brazilian political journalist
Onésimo Cepeda Silva (1937-2022), Mexican Roman Catholic prelate, Bishop of Ecatepec from 1995 to 2012
Tomás George Conceição Silva (1933-2021), Portuguese general and politician who was awarded the Grand Cross of the Military Order of Christ and Grand Cross of the Military Order of Avis
Héctor Luis Silva (1945-2021), Argentine rugby union footballer and coach of the Argentina team in the 1987 Rugby World Cup
Carlos Alberto Silva (1939-2017), Brazilian football manager
... (Another 11 notables are available in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.)

Historic Events for the Silva family +

Halifax Explosion

Mr. Charles D Silva (1887-1917), Welsh Steward aboard the SS Middleton Castle from Cardiff, Wales, United Kingdom who died in the Halifax Explosion (1917) 11

RMS Lusitania

Mr. Thomas James Silva, American 1st Class Passenger from Thomasville, Georgia, USA, who sailed aboard the RMS Lusitania (1915) and died in the sinking 12

Citations +

"What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
"Surnames Meanings, Origins & Distribution Maps - Forebears." Forebears, https://forebears.io/surnames
http://www.journaldesfemmes.com/nom-de-famille/nom/
"List of most common surnames in South America." Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_most_common_surnames_in_South_America
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 2016, October 27) Albion voyage to Van Diemen's Land, Australia in 1823 with 200 passengers. Retrieved from http://www.convictrecords.com.au/ships/albion/1823
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_West_Indies
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2017, April 12) Lyversa Silva. Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2017, April 12) Joseph Silva. Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
The Political Graveyard: Alphabetical Name Index. (Retrieved 2015, October 22) . Retrieved from http://politicalgraveyard.com/alpha/index.html
Halifax Explosion Book of Remembrance | Maritime Museum of the Atlantic. (Retrieved 2014, June 23) . Retrieved from https://maritimemuseum.novascotia.ca/what-see-do/halifax-explosion/halifax-explosion-book-remembrance
Lusitania Passenger List - The Lusitania Resource. (Retrieved 2014, March 7) . Retrieved from http://www.rmslusitania.info/lusitania-passenger-list/