Sylvester or Silvester is a name derived from the Latin adjective silvestris meaning "wooded" or "wild", which derives from the noun silva meaning "woodland". Classical Latin spells this with i. In Classical Latin, y represented a separate sound distinct from i, not a native Latin sound but one used in transcriptions of foreign words. After the Classical period y was pronounced as i. Spellings with Sylv- in place of Silv- date from after the Classical period.

Given name

Arts and entertainment

Music

  • Silvester Diggles (1817–1880), Australian musician and ornithologist
  • Sylvester James Jr. (1947–1988), also known as Sylvester, singer and disco performer
  • Sylvester Levay (born 1954), Hungarian musician
  • Sylvester Stewart (1943–2025), or Sly Stone, musician and record producer, best known as the frontman for Sly and the Family Stone

Other

  • Silvester Brito (1937–2018), American poet and academic
  • Silvester Harding (1745–1809), English artist and publisher
  • Sylvester McCoy (born 1943), Scottish actor
  • Sylvester Stallone (born 1946), American actor
  • Sylvester Terkay (born 1970), American professional wrestler

Politics

  • Sylvester A. Dineen (1898–1950), American schoolteacher and politician
  • Silvester Johnson (1813–1889), Kentucky merchant and politician
  • Silvester Mirabal (1864–1939), American farmer and politician
  • Silvester Sedborough (1515/16–1551), Member of Parliament
  • Sylvester Turner (1954–2025), American attorney and politician, mayor of Houston, Texas

Religion

  • Antipope Sylvester IV, a claimant from 1105 to 1111
  • Pope Sylvester I (died 335), Saint Sylvester
  • Pope Sylvester II (c. 946–1003)
  • Pope Sylvester III (died 1062 or 1063)
  • Silvester de Everdon (died 1254), bishop and Lord Chancellor
  • Sylvester Gozzolini (1177–1267), saint and founder of the Sylvestrines religious order
  • Silvester Jenks (1656–1714), English priest and theologian
  • Silvester Petra Sancta (1590–1647), Italian priest and herald
  • Patriarch Silvester of Alexandria (fl. 1569–1590)
  • Sylvester of Assisi (died 1240), companion of Saint Francis of Assisi
  • Sylvester of Antioch, 18th century Greek bishop
  • Sylvester of Kiev (c. 1055–1123), clergyman and writer in Kievan Rus
  • Silvester of Troina (died 1185), Basilian monk
  • Silvester of Valdiseve (1278–1348), monk
  • Sylvester of Worcester, early 13th century Bishop of Worcester
  • Sylvester (priest), 15th-century priest of the Cathedral of the Annunciation and close advisor to Ivan IV
  • Sylvester Graham (1794–1851), Presbyterian minister, father of graham crackers
  • Silvester Horne (1865–1914), Congregational minister
  • Sylvester Espelage (1877-1940), American Catholic bishop in China

Sports

  • Silvester Ashioya (born 1948), Kenyan hockey player
  • Sylvester Croom (born 1954), American football coach and former player
  • Silvester Fernandes (born 1936), Kenyan hockey player
  • Silvester Goraseb (born 1974), Namibian footballer
  • Silvester Knipfer (1939–2010), German sports shooter
  • Sylvester Mittee (born 1956), Saint Lucian/British boxer
  • Silvester Sabolčki (1979–2003), Croatian footballer
  • Silvester Šereš (1918–2000), Hungarian-Yugoslav footballer
  • Silvester Shkalla (born 1995), Albanian footballer
  • Silvester Takač (born 1940), Serbian-Yugoslavian footballer and football manager
  • Silvester van der Water (born 1996), Dutch footballer

Other fields

  • Sylvester of Marsico (c. 1100–1162), Count of Marsico in the Kingdom of Sicily
  • Silvester Bolam (1905–1953), British newspaper editor
  • Silvester Gardiner (1708–1786), American physician, pharmaceutical merchant and land developer

Surname

  • Andy Silvester (born 1947), British bassist and multi-instrumentalist
  • Attila Silvester (1944–2010), Greek choreographer
  • Charles Sylvester (1774–1828), English chemist and inventor
  • Dean Sylvester (born 1972), American hockey player
  • David Silvester (born 1958), Scottish numerical analyst
  • David Sylvester (medievalist), Canadian medieval historian
  • Debbie Silvester (born 20th century), British-Australian chemist and professor
  • Flor Silvester (1923–2008), Dutch graphic designer, illustrator, painter and sculptor
  • Fred Silvester (1933–2025), British politician
  • Frederick C. Silvester (1901–1966), British organist and composer
  • Hannah Sylvester (1903–1973), American blues singer
  • Harold Sylvester (born 1949), American film and television actor
  • James Joseph Sylvester (1814–1897), English mathematician
  • Jarrod Silvester (born 1965), Australian rules footballer
  • Jay Silvester (born 1937), American athlete
  • John Silvester (disambiguation)
  • Joshua Sylvester (1563–1618), English poet
  • Lewis Sylvester (born 1998), English boxer
  • Marc Sylvester, American middle-distance runner
  • Michael Silvester (born 1998), Irish rugby union player
  • Michael Sylvester (politician), American politician and labor organizer
  • Michael Sylvester (tenor) (born 1951), American opera-singer
  • Mike Sylvester (born 1951), an Italian-American basketball player
  • Mist (born 1992 as Rhys Thomas Sylvester), British rapper
  • Nigel Sylvester (born 1987), American professional BMX athlete
  • Paul J. Silvester (born 1963), American white collar criminal
  • Peter Silvester (disambiguation)
  • Philip Carteret Silvester (1777–1828), 2nd Baronet
  • Rick Sylvester (born 1942), American stuntman
  • Robin Sylvester (1950–2022), English musician
  • Sherry Sylvester, American political worker and journalist
  • Stephen Silvester (born 1951), English cricketer
  • Victor Silvester (1900–1978), English musician and bandleader
  • Walter Sylvester (1867–1944), English inventor
  • William Sylvester (1922–1995), American TV and film actor
  • William Henry Thomas Sylvester (1831–1920), English army officer and surgeon

Fictional characters

  • Bear Sylvester, a character on the BBC soap opera Doctors
  • Sylvester the Cat, a Looney Tunes character
  • Sylvester Junior, a son of Sylvester J. Pussycat, Sr.
  • Sylvester, a donkey in the children's book Sylvester and the Magic Pebble
  • Sylvester, a main character in the series Trapped in the Closet
  • Sylvester Rax, an antagonist in the 1985 animated show M.A.S.K. (TV series)
  • Sylvester McMonkey McBean, a character in the Dr. Seuss book The Sneetches and Other Stories
  • Sue Sylvester, a main character on the Fox sitcom Glee

See also

  • Saint Sylvester's Day

el:Σιλβέστρος

ja:シルヴェスター