Explore the Family Name Silvestre

The meaning of Silvestre

1. Galician and Spanish: habitational name from any of the places called Silvestre in Pontevedra and Badajoz. 2. Catalan, French (Occitan), and Spanish: from the personal name Silvestre (see Sylvester). 3. Spanish and Portuguese: nickname from silvestre ‘wild, rustic’. 4. Altered form of French Sylvestre. Some characteristic forenames: Spanish Jose, Manuel, Fernando, Juan, Miguel, Carlos, Ramon, Raul, Efren, Josefina, Mario, Pedro. Portuguese Joao, Joaquim.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Silvestre in the United States?

Based on the data from the Decennial U.S. Census, the popularity of the surname Silvestre has significantly increased between 2000 and 2010. In 2000, Silvestre was ranked 12,549 in terms of popular surnames, but by 2010 it had risen to 9,190. This represents a rank change of roughly 27%. Similarly, the count of individuals with this surname also grew from 2,265 in 2000 to 3,550 in 2010, marking an increase of over 56%. The proportion per 100,000 people also saw an upward trend, increasing from 0.84 in 2000 to 1.2 in 2010, a rise of almost 43%.

20002010Change
Rank#12,549#9,19026.77%
Count2,2653,55056.73%
Proportion per 100k0.841.242.86%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Silvestre

Looking at the ethnic identity associated with the surname Silvestre, according to the Decennial U.S. Census, there have been several significant shifts between 2000 and 2010. The percentage of those identifying as Hispanic increased from 63.89% to 71.24%, indicating an increase of around 11.5%. At the same time, the percentage identifying as White decreased by nearly 23% (from 17.70% to 13.63%), while the Asian/Pacific Islander group saw a decrease of around 12.5%. Interestingly, the 2010 data recorded a small percentage (0.87%) of individuals identifying as Black, where there were none in 2000. No changes were reported for those identifying as American Indian and Alaskan Native or those reporting two or more races.

20002010Change
Hispanic63.89%71.24%11.5%
Asian/Pacific Islander15.58%13.63%-12.52%
White17.7%13.63%-22.99%
Black0%0.87%0%
Two or More Races2.16%0%0%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0%0%0%

Silvestre ancestry composition

23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Silvestre is Spanish & Portuguese, which comprises 44.3% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are Indigenous American (13.9%) and British & Irish (11.9%). Additional ancestries include Filipino & Austronesian, French & German, Italian, Angolan & Congolese, and Eastern European.

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ANCESTRY BREAKDOWNCOMPOSITION
Spanish & Portuguese44.3%
Indigenous American13.9%
British & Irish11.9%
Other29.9%
Silvestre

Possible origins of the surname Silvestre

Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.

Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Silvestre have recent ancestry locations in Mexico and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

RECENT ANCESTRY LocationPercentage
Veracruz, Mexico20.90%
State Of Mexico, Mexico20.90%
Coahuila, Mexico20.90%
Colima, Mexico20.90%
Durango, Mexico20.90%

What Silvestre haplogroups can tell you

Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.

The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Silvestre is O-F2415, which is predominantly found among people with East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry. Haplogroup O-F2415 is descended from haplogroup O-M1359. Other common haplogroups include E-M183 and O-F2859, which are predominantly found among people with European and East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry.

The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Silvestre surname are: M, H, A2. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.

silvestrePaternal Haplogroup Origins O-M1359
Paternal Haplo Image

Your paternal lineage may be linked to the Cham

One of the many populations harboring members of haplogroup O1b1a1a1a1 is the Cham ethnic group, a group of people who speak Austronesian languages in Mainland Southeast Asia. Austronesian languages make up a language family that is extremely large and widespread, comprising over 350 million people on islands such as Madagascar, Easter Island, and many others. However, Austronesian languages are less common on mainland Asia, with a notable exception being the Chamic language. Research suggests that ancestors of the Cham people migrated from Southeast Asian islands to the mainland around the year 500 BCE, and that early Cham populations quickly began mixing with indigenous southern Vietnamese populations. As a result, the Chamic language now has words that were borrowed from languages spoken by indigenous Vietnamese people. It is likely that an ancestral Kinh population was one of the populations that mixed with the Cham people shortly after their migration to mainland Asia.

Your maternal lineage may be linked to the ancient people of the Indian subcontinent

While Haplogroup M is widespread throughout South and East Asia, it is more diverse on the Indian sub-continent than anywhere else in the world. The high degree of diversity of M in India is likely tied to its ancient arrival here nearly 50,000 years ago. In addition to M2, which is found throughout the subcontinent, there are dozens of haplogroups branching off of M that exist in India. These branches are often connected to specific regions, tribes, or ethnic groups. For example, haplogroup M18 is found among the Oraon peoples of eastern India and Bangladesh, while haplogroup M41 is common among the Pardhan speakers of eastern India, and haplogroup M31a can be found on the Andaman Islands, just off the southeast coast of India.

Maternal Haplo Image

What do people with the surname Silvestre have in common?

Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.

Preferences

Silvestre

Chocolate Ice Cream

Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.

"Silvestre" Surname 38.9%

23andMe Users 41.3%

Traits

Silvestre

Misophonia

When sounds made by others, like the sound of chewing or yawning, provoke strong emotional reactions in an individual.

"Silvestre" Surname 31.2%

23andMe Users 27.9%

Habits

Silvestre

Sugary Drink

Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.

"Silvestre" Surname 31.6%

23andMe Users 21.1%

Wellness

Silvestre

Migraine

A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.

"Silvestre" Surname 17.9%

23andMe Users 16.4%

Are health conditions linked to the last name Silvestre?

The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.

Disease variant frequency by ancestry

Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Silvestre are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition

Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Y402H variant

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of irreversible vision loss among older adults. The disease results in damage to the central part of the retina (the macula), impairing vision needed for reading, driving, or even recognizing faces. The 23andMe Health + Ancestry DNA test includes the two most common variants associated with an increased risk of developing the condition: the Y402H variant in the CFH gene and the A69S variant in the ARMS2 gene. Learn more about Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Spanish & Portuguese 56.3%

23andMe Users 57.2%