Meaning and background
The story behind Sylvester
Sylvester is the established English spelling of an old name derived from Latin silvestris, meaning “wooded” or “wild”. The immediate form developed from Silvester in the Middle Ages, so its woodland association has linguistic substance. The three syllables are rather grand for a call name, but they bring an identifiable personal-name history rather than a made-up description.
- Origin
- English medieval variant of Silvester, from Latin silvestris “wooded, wild”, related to silva “forest”. Source
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Everyday moments“Sylvester, come here!”
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About Sylvester
Recorded as a dog’s name
Sylvester appears in 3 dog licence records in the 2024 New York City dataset.
How to read this count
These records cover New York City and may count the same dog in more than one licence period. They are not a national popularity ranking.
Pronunciation and rhythm
/sɪlvɛstɚ/
US English sound sequence, converted from the CMU dictionary. Stress marks are shown separately.
Stress on the second syllable in the recorded US readings.
View dictionary notation
/sɪlvɛstɚ/ · primary stress on syllable 2S IH0 L V EH1 S T ER0
These are US dictionary readings. Personal, regional and other language pronunciations may differ.
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Sources and research notes (3)
- New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene NYC Dog Licensing Dataset — all seven available extract years, retrieved 24 October 2026 — Recorded name spellings in NYC licence-period rows, extract years 2016–2018, 2022–2024 and 2026. Evidence selects one stated year per name. Annual snapshots overlap; never sum them as unique dogs. No national popularity, etymology or owner naming-intent claim.
- Carnegie Mellon University / CMU Sphinx maintainers CMU US English Pronouncing Dictionary — US English dictionary readings; not owner-specific or exhaustive multilingual pronunciation
- City of Seattle Seattle Pet Licenses — DOG-only name aggregate, current source dated 6 October 2026 — Secondary spelling corroboration from dog-only licence rows. No cats, owner fields, national ranking or unique-dog claim.
References support the individual facts shown. A source link does not mean the entire profile has been verified.