Silva


Silva is a surname in Portuguese-speaking countries, such as Portugal and Brazil. It is derived from the Latin word silva, meaning 'forest' or 'woodland'. It is the family name of the House of Silva.
It is also widespread in Galician-speaking regions of Spain and even more widespread in regions of the former Portuguese Empire in the Americas, in Africa and Asia, notably in India and Sri Lanka.
Movement of people has led to the name being used in many places. Due to emigration from Portuguese-speaking countries, Silva is the fifth most common surname in the French department of Val-de-Marne, outside Paris, and it was the 19th most common family name given to newborns between 1966 and 1990 in France.
It is also the 7th most common surname in Luxembourg.
It is also among the top 20 surnames in Andorra, Angola, Cape Verde and Switzerland.

Geographical distribution

As of 2014, 64.7% of all known bearers of the surname Silva were residents of Brazil, 5.3% of Mexico, 5.1% of Portugal, 3.2% of Mozambique, 2.8% of Venezuela, 2.7% of the United States, 2.3% of Chile, 2.2% of Argentina, 2.2% of Peru, 2.0% of Colombia and 1.1% of Guinea-Bissau.
In Brazil, the frequency of the surname was higher than national average in the following states:
  1. Maranhão
  2. Bahia
  3. Roraima
  4. Pará
  5. Acre
  6. Amapá
  7. Alagoas
  8. Sergipe
  9. Amazonas
  10. Rio Grande do Norte
  11. Pernambuco
  12. Goiás
  13. Paraíba
  14. Piauí
  15. Ceará
  16. Federal District

    Arts

Actors

;First name
;Surname
Many people on this list are not generally known as Silva.

Auto racing

Brazil

;Male international players
;Female international players
;Others