Date
Gender Feminine
Usage Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, Romanian, Slovak, German, Dutch, English, Late Roman, Roman Mythology
Pronounced Pron. /ˈsil.vja/(Italian) /ˈsil.βja/(Spanish) /ˈsiɫ.vjɐ/(European Portuguese) /ˈsiw.vjɐ/(Brazilian Portuguese) /ˈzɪl.vi̯a/(German) /ˈsɪl.vi.jaː/(Dutch) /ˈsɪl.vi.ə/(English)
Meaning & History
Feminine form of Silvius. Rhea Silvia was the mother of Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome. This was also the name of a 6th-century saint, the mother of the pope Gregory the Great. It has been a common name in Italy since the Middle Ages. It was introduced to England by Shakespeare, who used it for a character in his play The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1594). It is now more commonly spelled Sylvia in the English-speaking world.