Silva


Silva is a surname of Portuguese or Galician origin which is widespread in the Portuguese-speaking countries including Brazil. The name is derived from Latin silva. It is the family name of the House of Silva.
The name is widespread in Galician-speaking regions of Spain and even more so in regions of the former Portuguese Empire in the Americas, 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 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.

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 bears this surname, while in Amazonas and Amapá the percentages are 18.79% and 17.06%, respectively. High values are also recorded in Pará, Rondônia, Roraima, and Tocantins, 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 and Pernambuco, followed by Paraíba and Rio Grande do Norte. In Maranhão and Piauí, approximately one in every four inhabitants is a Silva, while in Bahia, the most populous state in the region, there are more than 2.4 million people with this surname. 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 bear the surname; in São Paulo, Brazil’s largest state, the number exceeds 5.9 million. In Rio de Janeiro, 2.5 million inhabitants 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 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, British actress
  • António Silva , Portuguese actor
  • Deepani Silva, Sri Lankan actress
  • Douglas Silva, Brazilian actor
  • Fernando Ramos da Silva, Brazilian actor
  • Frank Silva, American actor and set dresser
  • Freddie Silva, Sri Lankan actor, comedian and playback singer
  • Gertrudes Rita da Silva, Portuguese actor
  • Henry Silva, American actor
  • Howard da Silva, American actor and director
  • Sadiris Master, Sri Lankan Sinhalese actor, musician
  • Hilarion "Larry" Silva, Filipino actor, comedian and politician
  • Leena de Silva, Sri Lankan Sinhala film, television, and theater actress
  • Leslie Silva, American actress
  • Nicole da Silva, Australian actress
  • Palitha Silva, Sri Lankan actor
  • Paulo Rogério da Silva, Brazilian actor also known as Gero Camilo
  • Rafael L. Silva, Brazilian-American actor
  • Roy de Silva, Sri Lankan Sinhalese actor and film director
  • Sanjit De Silva, Sri Lankan American actor and director
  • Simone Silva, Egyptian-born French film actress, also briefly in British films

    Musicians

  • Da Silva, French singer, songwriter of Portuguese origin
  • Alan Silva, American free jazz double bassist
  • Amancio D'Silva, Indian jazz guitarist and composer
  • Andrew Conrad De Silva, Sri Lankan Australian R&B and rock vocalist and instrumentalist
  • Dawn Silva, American funk vocalist
  • Deepal Silva, Sri Lankan Sinhalese playback singer and actor
  • Desmond de Silva, Sri Lankan vocalist
  • Francisco Manuel da Silva, Brazilian composer and music professor
  • Henry Silva, Cape Verdean band leader/singer
  • Humberto Rodríguez Silva, Cuban composer and judge
  • Horace Silver, American jazz pianist, composer and bandleader
  • Luis Silva, American Tejano songwriter
  • Lúcio Silva da Souza, known artistically as Silva, Brazilian singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist
  • Malcolm "Mac" Silva, Aboriginal Australian musician, who appeared in the film Country Outcasts
  • Natalia Lafourcade Silva, Mexican singer and musician
  • Rui da Silva, Portuguese DJ
  • Stuart de Silva, Sri Lankan Sinhalese vocalist
  • Vivienne de Silva Boralessa, Sri Lankan vocalist
  • Yohani Diloka de Silva, Sri Lankan singer, songwriter, rapper, music producer, YouTuber and businesswoman, also known as Yohani

    Painters and sculptors

  • António Carvalho de Silva Porto, Portuguese naturalist painter
  • Diego Rodríguez de Silva y Velázquez, Spanish painter
  • Francis Augustus Silva, American painter
  • Manuel Pereira da Silva, Portuguese sculptor
  • Marilyn da Silva, American metalsmith
  • Maria Helena Vieira da Silva, Portuguese painter
  • William Posey Silva, American painter

    Writers

;First name
  • Silva Kaputikyan, Armenian poet, writer, academician and public activist
;Surname
  • Alfreda de Silva, Sri Lankan Sinhala poet, journalist, and screenwriter
  • António Diniz da Cruz e Silva, Portuguese heroic-comic poet
  • António José da Silva, eighteenth-century Brazilian Converso playwright known as "The Jew"
  • Arménio Adroaldo Vieira e Silva , Portuguese journalist
  • Baltasar Lopes da Silva, Cape Verdean writer
  • Daniel Silva, American author
  • John de Silva, Sri Lankan Sinhalese playwright
  • José Gabriel Lopes da Silva, 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
  • Wellawattearachchige Abraham 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, known as Tiradentes, Brazilian independence leader
  • Mariana de Silva-Bazán y Sarmiento, Spanish aristocrat, writer, painter, and translator
  • Pedro da Silva, first post courier of Canada
  • Ruy Gómez de Silva, nobleman and cousin of Philip II of Spain

    Judiciary

  • Eurico da Silva, Indian judge of the High Court of Bombay
  • Janak de Silva, Sri Lankan puisne justice of the Supreme Court

    Media

  • Chantal Da Silva, Canadian journalist working in the United Kingdom
  • Dayananda de Silva, Sri Lankan Sinhalese radio journalist at Radio Ceylon
  • João Silva, 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, Sri Lankan Sinhala politician
  • Amaro Silva, municipal politician in Winnipeg, Canada
  • Aníbal Cavaco Silva, President of Portugal
  • Anthony Emmanuel 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, 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, Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Army
  • Charles Percival de Silva, Sri Lankan Sinhalese politician
  • Charles de Silva Batuwantudawe, 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
  • Colvin Reginald de Silva, Sri Lankan Sinhalese Trotskyist Member of Parliament, Cabinet Minister of Plantation Industries and Constitutional Affairs
  • Crishantha de Silva, 21st Commander of the Sri Lanka Army
  • Desmond Lorenz de Silva, Sri Lankan Briton lawyer, former United Nations Chief War Crimes Prosecutor in Sierra Leone
  • D. G. Albert de Silva, Sri Lankan Sinhalese Member of Parliament
  • Duleep de Silva Wickramanayake, Sri Lankan Sinhala army major-general
  • Duminda Silva, Sri Lankan politician
  • Estanislau da Silva, East Timorese politician and member of the Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor
  • Eunice Silva, Cape Verdean civil engineer and politician
  • Francisco de Paula Vieira da Silva de Tovar, 1st Viscount of Molelos, Portuguese politician
  • Frank de Silva, Inspector-General of Sri Lanka Police from 1993–1995
  • Fredrick de Silva, Sri Lankan Sinhalese lawyer and politician
  • Gardiye Punchihewage Amaraseela Silva, 34th Chief Justice of Sri Lanka
  • George E. de Silva, Sri Lankan Sinhalese lawyer and politician
  • G.E.S. de Silva, Commanding Officer of the Sri Lanka Volunteer Naval Force
  • G. H. De Silva, 13th Commander of the Sri Lanka Army
  • Golbery do Couto e Silva, Brazilian politician
  • G. P. S. de Silva, 40th Chief Justice of Sri Lanka
  • George Reginald de Silva, Sri Lankan Sinhalese politician
  • Gratian Silva, Sri Lankan Sinhala army major general
  • Guto Silva, Brazilian politician
  • H. A. Silva, 11th Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy
  • Hélio José da Silva Lima, Brazilian politician known as Hélio José
  • Herman Leonard de Silva, Sri Lankan Sinhalese lawyer and diplomat, 12th Permanent Representative of Sri Lanka to the United Nations in New York
  • Israel Pinheiro da Silva, Brazilian politician and engineer
  • Jaime Silva, former Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Fisheries of Portugal
  • Jayatilleke De Silva, Sri Lankan Sinhala Communist guerrilla
  • Jim Silva, American politician
  • José Albino Silva Peneda, Portuguese politician
  • José Bonifácio de Andrada e Silva, Brazilian activist
  • K. L. A. Ranasinghe Silva, 41st Surveyor General of Sri Lanka
  • Leopold James de Silva Seneviratne, Sri Lankan Sinhala civil servant
  • Lucien Macull Dominic de Silva, Sri Lankan Sinhala member of the Privy Council
  • Luís Alves de Lima e Silva, Duke of Caxias, Brazilian military commander
  • Luís da Silva Mouzinho de Albuquerque, Portuguese politician
  • Luis Roberto da Sliva, East Timorese politician
  • Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, current President of Brazil
  • Lydia Méndez Silva, Puerto Rican politician affiliated with the Popular Democratic Party
  • Makalandage Johnny Terrence De Silva Gunawardena, 8th Commander of the Sri Lanka Air Force
  • Manikku Wadumestri Hendrick de Silva, 26th Attorney General of Sri Lanka
  • Manuel António Vassalo e Silva, Portuguese politician
  • Manuel Carvalho da Silva, coordinator of the Portuguese Labour union federation
  • Marina Silva, Brazilian environmentalist and politician
  • Mario Silva, Canadian politician
  • Mónica Esther Silva, Argentine politician
  • Nelson Silva, Portuguese politician
  • Osmund de Silva, 13th Inspector General of the Sri Lanka Police
  • Pandikoralalage Sunil Chandra De Silva, 35th Attorney General of Sri Lanka
  • Patrick de Silva Kularatna, Sri Lankan Sinhalese politician and educationist
  • Pettagan Dedreck Weerasingha de Silva, Sri Lankan Sinhalese Member of Parliament
  • Mervin Rex de Silva, Sri Lankan Sinhalese fighter pilot who served in the Royal Air Force during World War II
  • Mervyn Silva, Sri Lankan Sinhalese politician
  • Mohan Priyadarshana De Silva, Sri Lankan Sinhalese Member of Parliament for Galle Electoral District
  • Nilenthi Nimal Siripala de Silva, Sri Lankan Sinhalese politician, Sri Lankan Minister of Transport
  • Peduru Hewage William de Silva, Sri Lankan Sinhalese Trotskyist politician, Cabinet Minister of Industries and Fisheries 1956–1959
  • Piyal De Silva, Commander of the Sri Lanka Navy
  • Piyal Nishantha de Silva, Sri Lankan Sinhala Cabinet Minister
  • Ranjith de Silva, Sri Lanka Light Infantry major-general
  • Rupika De Silva, Sri Lankan Sinhala women's rights and peace activist
  • Sampathawaduge Stephen Anthony Silva, Sri Lankan Sinhalese Member of Parliament
  • Sarah Silva, American politician from New Mexico
  • Sarath N. Silva, 41st Chief Justice of Sri Lanka
  • Shan Wijayalal De Silva, 5th Chief Minister of Southern Province, Sri Lanka
  • Sharon Quirk-Silva, American politician
  • Shavendra Silva, Sri Lankan Sinhalese general and diplomat
  • Sonia Silva, American politician
  • Stephen de Silva Jayasinghe, Sri Lankan Sinhala politician
  • Thakur Artha Niranjan Joseph De Silva Deva Aditya, Sri Lankan Briton politician
  • T. N. De Silva, former Commandant of the Sri Lanka Army Volunteer Force
  • Vincent Stuart de Silva Wikramanayake, Sri Lankan Sinhala lawyer and politician
  • Wilmot Arthur de Silva, Sri Lankan Sinhalese politician, veterinary surgeon, and philanthropist, Minister of Health in the second State Council of Ceylon
  • Walwin Arnold de Silva, Sri Lankan Sinhalese civil servant