Silva is a surname of Portuguese or Galician origin that is widespread in the Portuguese-speaking countries,Saiba quais são os 3 sobrenomes mais comuns em 64 diferentes países. .© 2005 SOCIEDADE PORTUGUESA DE INFORMAÇÃO ECONÓMICA S.A. – SPIE (in Portuguese).Os 100 Apelidos mais frequentes da População Portuguesa (in Portuguese). including Brazil.O ProJovem é Silva, Santos... (in Portuguese).Descubra como surgiram os Silva, os Araújo, os Fernandes, os Batista, os Carneiro... (in Portuguese). It may derive from any of various places in Iberia named Silva, or else from the common noun , which means "bramble" in modern Portuguese but originally meant "forest".
The name is widespread in Galician-speaking regions of Spain (mostly in Galicia) and even more so in regions of the former Portuguese Empire in the Americas (being the most common surname in Brazil), in Africa and Asia, notably in India and Sri Lanka. It is also quite common in Spanish-speaking Latin America.
Movement of people has led to the name being used in many places. Due to emigration from Portuguese-speaking countries, Silva (other variant forms include: "da Silva", "de Silva", "d'Silva", "e Silva", "Silvea") is the fifth most common surname in the French department of Val-de-Marne, outside Paris,Number of da Silva in France and it was the 19th most common family name given to newborns between 1966 and 1990 in France.
Distribution of the surname Silva in Brazil + Location Population Population with the surname Silva % of the population with the surname Silva 830,018 230,212 27.74% 3,127,683 1,118,138 35.75% 733,759 125,176 17.06% 3,941,613 740,534 18.79% 1,414,1626 2,487,204 17.59% 8,794,957 1,692,868 19.25% 2,817,381 390,958 13.88% 3,833,712 449,433 11.72% 7,056,495 1,200,731 17.02% 6,776,699 1,581,757 23.34% 3,658,649 651,323 17.80% 2,757,013 400,162 14.51% 20,539,989 3,162,886 15.40% 8,120,131 1,593,312 19.62% 3,974,687 1,120,148 28.18% 11,444,380 1,136,394 9.93% 9,058,931 3,100,715 34.23% 3,271,199 771,651 23.59% 16,055,174 2,515,895 15.67% 3,302,729 919,522 27.84% 10,882,965 1,140,167 10.48% 1,581,196 256,795 16.24% 636,707 125,828 19.76% 7,610,361 613,075 8.06% 44,411,238 5,928,587 13.35% 2,210,004 288,151 13.04% 1,511,460 288,482 19.09% 203,080,756 34,030,104 16.76% In the North Region, the surname Silva is very widespread, with significant percentages in all states. In Acre, more than a quarter of the population (27.74%) bears this surname, while in Amazonas and Amapá the percentages are 18.79% and 17.06%, respectively. High values are also recorded in Pará (19.62%), Rondônia (16.24%), Roraima (19.76%), and Tocantins (19.09%), confirming a strong presence of the surname in the northern part of Brazil, where there are more than 3.2 million people named Silva in total.
In the Northeast Region, the surname Silva reaches some of the highest percentages in Brazil. The states with the greatest concentration are Alagoas (35.75%) and Pernambuco (34.23%), followed by Paraíba (28.18%) and Rio Grande do Norte (27.84%). In Maranhão and Piauí, approximately one in every four inhabitants is a Silva (23.34% and 23.59%, respectively), while in Bahia, the most populous state in the region, there are more than 2.4 million people with this surname (17.59%). These figures indicate that the Northeast represents the true historical and cultural epicenter of the Silva surname in Brazil.
In the Central-West Region, the surname maintains a significant presence, though with slightly lower percentages. In Goiás, 17.02% of the population bears the surname Silva, while in Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul the percentages are 17.80% and 14.51%. In the Federal District, 13.88% of residents are Silva. Altogether, nearly 2.6 million inhabitants of the Central-West share this surname.
In the Southeast Region, the most populous in the country, the surname Silva remains one of the most common, although with more moderate percentages compared to the Northeast. In Minas Gerais, 3.1 million people (15.40%) bear the surname; in São Paulo, Brazil's largest state, the number exceeds 5.9 million (13.35%). In Rio de Janeiro, 2.5 million inhabitants (15.67%) share the surname, while in Espírito Santo the proportion is 11.72%. Altogether, around 12.5 million people named Silva live in the Southeast Region.
In the South Region, the percentages are the lowest, but the surname remains among the most widespread. In Paraná, nearly 1.1 million people (9.93%) are Silva, while in Rio Grande do Sul the percentage reaches 10.48%. In Santa Catarina, however, only 8.06% of the population bears this surname—the lowest proportion in Brazil. Altogether, the South Region has around 2.3 million inhabitants with the surname Silva.
At the national level, the surname Silva is the most common in all of Brazil, with 34,030,104 people, representing 16.76% of the total population. Its distribution across all regions reflects the Portuguese origins of the surname and its deep roots in Brazil's history and demographic formation. In practice, approximately one in every six Brazilians bears the surname Silva, making it a distinctive symbol of national identity.
Arts
Actors Adele Silva (born 1980), British actress António Silva (actor) (1886–1971), Portuguese actor Deepani Silva, Sri Lankan actress Douglas Silva (born 1988), Brazilian actor Fernando Ramos da Silva (1967–1987), Brazilian actor Frank Silva (1950–1995), American actor and set dresser Freddie Silva (1938–2001), Sri Lankan actor, comedian, and playback singer Gertrudes Rita da Silva (1825–1888), Portuguese actor Henry Silva (1926–2022), American actor Howard da Silva (1909–1986), American actor and director Sadiris Master (died 1958), Sri Lankan Sinhalese actor and musician Hilarion "Larry" Silva (1937–2004), Filipino actor, comedian, and politician Leena de Silva (born 1936), Sri Lankan Sinhala actress Leslie Silva (born 1968), American actress Nicole da Silva (born 1981), Australian actress Palitha Silva (born 1967), Sri Lankan actor Paulo Rogério da Silva (born 1970), Brazilian actor also known as Gero Camilo Rafael L. Silva (born 1994), Brazilian-American actor Roy de Silva (1937–2018), Sri Lankan Sinhalese actor and film director Sanjit De Silva (born 1976), Sri Lankan American actor and director Simone Silva (1928–1957), Egyptian-born French film actress, also briefly in British films
Musicians Da Silva (singer) (born 1976), French singer and songwriter Alan Silva (born 1939), American free jazz double bassist Amancio D'Silva (1936–1996), Indian jazz guitarist and composer Andrew De Silva, Sri Lankan Australian R&B and musician Dawn Silva, American funk vocalist Deepal Silva (1967–2017), Sri Lankan Sinhalese playback singer and actor Desmond de Silva (1944–2022), Sri Lankan vocalist Francisco Manuel da Silva (1795–1865), Brazilian composer and music professor Henry Silva (1926–2022), Cape Verdean band leader and singer Humberto Rodríguez Silva (1908–1952), Cuban composer and judge Horace Silver (1928–2014), American jazz pianist, composer, and bandleader Luis Silva (1943–2008), American Tejano songwriter Lúcio Silva da Souza, known artistically as Silva (musician), Brazilian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Mac Silva (1947–1989), Aboriginal Australian musician, who appeared in the film Country Outcasts Natalia Lafourcade Silva (born 1984), Mexican singer and musician Rui da Silva (DJ) (born 1968), Portuguese DJ Stuart de Silva, Sri Lankan Australian jazz pianist Virajini Lalithya de Silva (born 1973), Sri Lankan Sinhalese vocalist Vivienne de Silva Boralessa (1930–2017), Sri Lankan vocalist Yohani Diloka de Silva, Sri Lankan singer, songwriter, and music producer
Painters and sculptors António Carvalho de Silva Porto (1850–1893), Portuguese naturalist painter Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez (Diego Velázquez), Spanish painter Francis Augustus Silva (1835–1886), American painter Manuel Pereira da Silva (1920–2003), Portuguese sculptor Marilyn da Silva (born 1952), American metalsmith Maria Helena Vieira da Silva (1908–1992), Portuguese painter William Posey Silva (1859–1948), American painter
Writers First name Silva Kaputikyan (1919–2006), Armenian poet, writer, academician, and public activist
Surname Alfreda de Silva (1920–2001), Sri Lankan Sinhala poet, journalist, and screenwriter António Diniz da Cruz e Silva (1731–1799), Portuguese heroic-comic poet António José da Silva (1705–1739), eighteenth-century Brazilian Converso playwright known as "The Jew" Arménio Adroaldo Vieira e Silva (Arménio Vieira) (born 1941), Portuguese journalist Baltasar Lopes da Silva, Cape Verdean writer Daniel Silva (novelist), American author John de Silva, Sri Lankan Sinhalese playwright José Gabriel Lopes da Silva (Gabriel Mariano), Cape Verdean poet and essayist Joseph Silva, a pseudonym of American author Ron Goulart Luís Filipe Silva, Portuguese writer Nihal De Silva, Sri Lankan Sinhalese novelist Sugathapala de Silva, Sri Lankan Sinhalese dramatist, novelist, radio play producer, and translator Víctor Domingo Silva, Chilean poet, journalist, playwright, and writer W. A. Silva, Sri Lankan Sinhalese novelist Wilson da Silva, Australian/Portuguese science writer, editor, and filmmaker
Other arts Ena de Silva, re-established Sri Lanka's batik industry Ingrid Silva, Brazilian ballet dancer Maria José Marques da Silva, Portuguese architect Minnette de Silva, Sri Lankan Sinhalese architect
Historical figures Bernardo Peres da Silva, the first and only native Goan governor of Portuguese India Lucius Flavius Silva, Roman governor of Judea who crushed Jewish resistance at Masada in 73 AD José Joaquim da Silva Xavier (1746–1792), known as Tiradentes, Brazilian independence leader Mariana de Silva-Bazán y Sarmiento (1739–1784), Spanish aristocrat, writer, painter, and translator Pedro da Silva (post courier), first post courier of Canada (17th–18th century) Ruy Gómez de Silva (1516–1573), nobleman and cousin of Philip II of Spain
Judiciary Eurico da Silva (1933–2025), Indian judge of the High Court of Bombay Janak de Silva, Sri Lankan puisne justice of the Supreme Court (since 2020)
Media
Chantal Da Silva, Canadian journalist working in the United Kingdom Dayananda de Silva, Sri Lankan Sinhalese radio journalist at Radio Ceylon João Silva (photographer), South African photographer Martin Silva, Portuguese-Canadian politician and radio personality Sampath Lakmal de Silva, Sri Lankan Sinhalese journalist specializing in defense issues Tatiana Silva Braga Tavares, Belgian model, Miss Belgium 2005 Tom Silva, general contractor on the PBS show This Old House Thotawatte Don Manuel Titus de Silva, known as Titus Thotawatte, Sri Lankan director and editor Yohani Diloka de Silva, Sri Lankan singer-songwriter, rapper, record producer, and YouTuber
Political and military figures
Alexander Edmund de Silva Wijegooneratne Samaraweera Rajapakse (1866–1937), Sri Lankan Sinhala politician Amaro Silva, municipal politician in Winnipeg (Manitoba), Canada Ana Lúcia Silva de Passos (born 1967), Portuguese politician and biologist Aníbal Cavaco Silva, President of Portugal A. E. Silva, Sri Lankan Tamil Member of Parliament António Maria da Silva, Portuguese politician Artur da Costa e Silva, Brazilian military officer and politician Asoka de Silva (Admiral), 9th Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy Asoka de Silva, 42nd Chief Justice of Sri Lanka Benedita da Silva, Brazilian politician C. A. Mike N. Silva (1933–2019), Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army Charles Percival de Silva, Sri Lankan Sinhalese politician Charles de Silva Batuwantudawe (1877–1940), Sri Lankan Sinhala lawyer and politician Chitta Ranjan De Silva, Sri Lankan Sinhalese lawyer, Chairman of the Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission, 40th Attorney General of Sri Lanka, 39th Solicitor General of Sri Lanka Claude Henry de Silva, Singaporean lawyer