Show ContentsSilvis History, Family Crest & Coats of Arms

Early Origins of the Silvis family

The surname Silvis was first found in the town of Silva in the Portuguese province of Valenca do Minho. The name of the town is derived from the Portuguese word 'silva,' which means 'forest,' and indicating that the area was once heavily forested.

Early History of the Silvis family

This web page shows only a small excerpt of our Silvis research. Another 36 words (3 lines of text) covering the years 1647, 1673, 1691, 1694, 1714, 1717, 1720, 1721, 1730, 1731, 1733, 1756, 1774, 1778, 1799 and 1835 are included under the topic Early Silvis History in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Silvis Spelling Variations

Spelling variations of this family name include: Da Silva, De Silva, Silva, Silveira and others.

Early Notables of the Silvis family

Prominent members of the family include Pedro da Silva (c.1647-1717), born in Lisbon and settling in New France prior to 1673, he was the first post courier in New France; a Canadian postage stamp honoring him was released in June 2003; and António Diniz da Cruz e Silva (1731-1799), Portuguese heroic-comic poet, born in Brazil.Manuel Pereira da Silva (1694-1733) was a priest and friar of the Order of Christ, master of arts, doctor of canons and professor of the same faculty at the University of Coimbra, etc. He was born in Lisbon on April 6, 1691, where he also died prematurely...
Another 403 words (29 lines of text) are included under the topic Early Silvis Notables in all our PDF Extended History products and printed products wherever possible.

Silvis Ranking

In the United States, the name Silvis is the 12,321st most popular surname with an estimated 2,487 people with that name. 1


United States Silvis migration to the United States +

Some of the first settlers of this family name were:

Silvis Settlers in United States in the 19th Century
  • M Silvis, aged 25, who arrived in New Orleans, La in 1825 2

Contemporary Notables of the name Silvis (post 1700) +

  • Randall Silvis, American novelist, playwright, screenwriter, and teacher from Madison Township, Clarion County, Pennsylvania, winner of the Drue Heinz Literature Prize in 1984 for his first book
  • Johannes "Jos" Silvis (b. 1953), Dutch law professor and jurist, Attorney General of the Supreme Court of the Netherlands (2016-)


  1. "What are the 5,000 Most Common Last Names in the U.S.?". NameCensus.com, https://namecensus.com/last-names/
  2. 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)


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