Silva is a surname of Portuguese or Galician origin that is widespread in the Portuguese-speaking countries, including Brazil. It may derive from any of various places in Iberia named Silva, or else from the common noun silva, 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, and it was the 19th most common family name given to newborns between 1966 and 1990 in France.
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Distribution of the surname Silva in Brazil
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.
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)
Sports
Many people on this list are not generally known as Silva.
Other professions
A. E. de Silva, Sri Lankan businessman
Eugenia Silva, Spanish model
Sir Ernest de Silva, Sri Lankan Sinhalese business magnate, banker, and barrister
George David Silva, Sri Lankan Sinhalese Australian mass murderer
João Marques Silva, Portuguese researcher
José da Silva Pais, Portuguese soldier
Kamaj Silva (born 1983), Sri Lankan Sinhala entrepreneur
Moises Teixeira da Silva, Brazilian robber
Palmira Silva, British murder victim
Riccardo Silva (born 1970), Italian businessman
Stella de Silva (1918–2012), paediatrician from Sri Lanka
Steven Silva, American chef
Nalin de Silva, Sri Lankan Sinhalese promoter of pseudoscience
Jean Charles da Silva e de Menezes, known as Jean Charles de Menezes, Brazilian man killed by British police in 2005
Fictional characters
Silva (Shaman King), a character in Shaman King
Silva, a mystical speaking necklace in GARO
Goodness and Lucky Silva, characters in Marvel Comics
Kristen De Silva, protagonist in Child's Play 3, played by Perrey Reeves
Noelle Silva, a character in Black Clover
Octavio Silva, a playable character known as Octane in Apex Legends
Raoul Silva, the antagonist of the James Bond film Skyfall
Rose da Silva, Christopher da Silva and Sharon da Silva, fictional characters in the film Silent Hill