Sylvia

I thought this name was more common because I've been hearing it everywhere lately, but it only ranks at 434.

Sylvia is the name of a very good friend of mine. She is in her early 30s, just like me. I very much prefer Sylvia to Sylvie which is a cute nickname though or a great name for someone with French origin. Sylvia looks and sounds classy, timeless, and sophisticated. This name feels soft, feminine, and natural with no harsh letters. It flows just beautifully. I’m so happy to see the name Sylvia becoming more and more popular. Sylvia will be always youthful, fresh, and ready to use. Never dusty or clunky. If I didn’t already have a name planned for my daughter, I would gladly name her Sylvia.

Truly a timeless name. It's so beautiful.

This is my daughter's name. She's 2 and we call her Sylvie mostly, but she has a lot of nicknames. The name suits her and I think it's beautiful and classic.

Crazy about this name ever since I was little. It's shimmery and lovely and has a classic timelessness. Very pretty.

Gorgeous name! Would love to use it for a child!

Could be a great alternative to the name Olivia, with that same "via" ending. Also classic feel but less commonly used. It is on my long list of great names.

Sylvia Plath was a famous poet and novelist with this name. I think this famous bearer adds a sort of intellectual hint to the name. I like the spelling Sylvia better than Silvia, probably because I am addicted to names with the letter y in the middle. Overall, I think it is a very pretty name.

I think it's a beautiful name. I would love to use it on one of my children!

I love it! I would name a child this for sure.

I love this name! I've only met one Sylvia in my life. I also think the nicknames Silva/Silver are sweet! I don't know how Sylvia & Sophia can be mistaken for one another when they sound nothing alike. And as far as the name being "outdated" or "old-fashioned", you can make the same argument for a good portion of the names on the list that have been around forever.

A little old-fashioned, but not bad.

My name is Sylvia and I used to not understand why people thought my name was so pretty. But as years passed by I now respect the name my parents gave me. It also is fun because when my mom put on the movie "Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer" the song Silver and Gold showed up and my dad came up with a nickname which is Sylvia Gold and my dad has called me that ever since. I also like the meaning of Sylvia and the fact that there is a Y instead of an I- makes it look pretty.

Reminds me of Syphilis, sorry.

This is my mother's name and I love it! It's really beautiful and refined, and yet cute and sparky at the same time. I have a strong association with my mother for the name Sylvia. Her nicknames are Syl, Sylvie, Sophie and Soph, chiefly. My second daughter, if I have one, will be named Sylvia, with Via as a nickname (my first daughter will be Marion). My mother has never been called Via, but I got it from a book and both of us really like it.

Sylvia seems a strong, firm, beautiful name. I much prefer Sylvia to Silvia and Sylvie. Diminutives include Via and Syl, and I like both of those (though I prefer the full name).

Sylvia seems a strong and firm but kind name. I agree with some others that it is a lot better than Silvia - Silvia seems very frivolous, but Sylvia so wholesome. It somehow reminds me of a forest, like its meaning.

Sylvia is a strong, classic name with a nature-feeling and a 1800s aristocratic vibe in my opinion. My favourite combo with it is Sylvia Edith: just lovely.

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I've heard of a lot of bearers but Sylvia just looks like its Italian form Silvia that is so popular in Italy. Too many bearers made it without a specific tie.

I love this name. It's the name of my girlfriend so it carries such a sweet ring for me. I would name all of my future daughters this, but that might get confusing. I love you Sylvia!

I think it's an okay name.

My daughter (born in 2015) is named Sylvia. I love the meaning of the name, as well as the way it sounds and looks on paper. The anglicized spelling with the y looks more attractive to me. It definitely has an old lady vibe, but is graceful and classic rather than dowdy.

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Sylvia does sound similar to the currently popular Sophia, and the nickname Sylvie sounds very much like Sophie. I've experienced people mistaking my daughter's name for these when I've introduced her quite a few times. I also jokingly call her Saliva when she is teething, and I imagine this could be a future playground taunt too.

Sylvia is a very pretty, unique name with a creative twist to the name Silvia. A cute nickname is Via.

This is my name and it means of the forest. I have always loved it. There is a song in a Shakespeare play 'Who is Sylvia' and Schubert wrote the music to it. My mum told me when I was born they didn't have a girl's name ready then one day the song played on the radio and I smiled so they picked the name for me.
It's a bit worrying that so many people see it as an old woman's name but I guess I am old now, I rather hope it will come back and maybe I will have a granddaughter named for me.

I like Sylvia. It's not a modern name and it's a little more exotic than Silvia.

Nice, but I prefer Cecilia.

This would be a pretty name. If I didn't only know women older than 70 with this name. But hey, they were all young at some point. (I think this name's popularity in America peaked during the Great Depression. Don't know about the rest of the world.)

I think this is such a lovely name. I think it looks better than Silvia. Sylvia could work for anyone, in my opinion. I have heard of "Sylv" as a nickname for Sylvia.

This is such a lovely name. I'm so surprised this is not more popular since it is similar to other popular names like Sophia and Olivia. It has the v in the middle and names with v either in the middle or beginning seem to be catching on, such as Ava, Eva, Evelyn, Genevieve, Geneva, etc. I really hope this name doesn't get too popular. If I have another daughter I was thinking of naming her Sylvie, but would use Sylvia. I only prefer Sylvie in my situation because it complements honoring middle names better and with my daughter being named Fiona, I think Fiona and Sylvie sounds less repetitive than Fiona and Sylvia.

This is actually a pretty name in English, even though it sounds like the name of an old woman. In Finnish, German, Swedish, and other languages with the sound equivalent of the German ü, this name is horrible. Silvia, however, is pretty in those languages as well, as it's pronounced like Sylvia is in English.

Even though it's my sister's name I've always thought of Sylvias as old crazy bingo playing women.

I love this name, it's my twin's name, and I think it's so awesome and pretty.

My sister is named Sylvia. To me it is classic. She is only 20 so it is unique and no one else her age shares this name.

My mom has this name. Her name is Sylvia Minnie. Minnie is her grandma's name I believe and I think she has a pretty name! And her dad is from Germany so it works.

A Swedish queen spelled it Silvia rather than Sylvia. Personally, I like Silvia better.