De Silva
/də ˈsɪlvə/noun
A surname of Portuguese and Spanish usage meaning a person associated with a forest or woodland place.
Did you know?The surname comes from Latin silva, “forest,” a word that also gave English sylvan and silviculture; it originally functioned as a place-based name.
Etymological Timeline
Classical Antiquity
Latin
silva
“Forest, woodland, or wooded region”
Classical Latin
Latin
de silva
“Of the forest; from the woodland”
Medieval Period
Latin/Portuguese
de Silva
“A locational byname identifying someone connected with a forest or place named Silva”
12th–15th Centuries
Portuguese
da Silva / de Silva
“Hereditary surname forms used in Portugal and surrounding Iberian regions”
Early Modern Period
Portuguese and Spanish
De Silva
“Established family surname carried through Iberian naming traditions”
Modern English
English
De Silva
“A Portuguese-origin surname, often written with a space and capitalized particles”
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