Sylvester

Sylvester is a name derived from the Latin adjective silvestris meaning "wooded" or "wild", which derives from the noun silva meaning "woodland". Classical Latin spells this with i. In Classical Latin y represented a separate sound distinct from i, not a native Latin sound but one used in transcriptions of foreign words. After the Classical period y came to be pronounced as i. Spellings with Sylv- in place of Silv- date from after the Classical period.

Sylvester may refer to

Surname

• Attila Silvester, Greek choreographer
• Charles Sylvester, English chemist and inventor
• Dean Sylvester, American hockey player
• Hannah Sylvester (c. 1900–1973), American blues singer
• Harold Sylvester, American film and television actor
• James Joseph Sylvester, English mathematician
• Joshua Sylvester, English poet
• Michael Sylvester, American opera-singer
• Rick Sylvester, American stuntman
• Robin Sylvester, English musician
• Sherry Sylvester, American political worker and journalist
• William Sylvester, American TV and film actor
• William Henry Thomas Sylvester, English army officer and surgeon

Fictional characters

• Sylvester (Looney Tunes), a Looney Tunes character
• Sylvester Junior, a son of Sylvester J. Pussycat, Sr.
• Sylvester, a donkey in the children's book Sylvester and the Magic Pebble
• Sue Sylvester, a main character on the Fox sitcom Glee
• Sylvester (Trapped In The Closet), a main character in the hip hopera/Comedy Trapped In The Closet

Churchmen

• Pope Sylvester I (died 335), Saint Sylvester
• Pope Sylvester II (c. 946–1003)
• Pope Sylvester III (died 1062 or 1063)
• Antipope Sylvester IV, a claimant from 1105 to 1111
• Sylvester of Kiev (c. 1055–1123), clergyman and writer in Kievan Rus
• Sylvester Gozzolini (1177–1267), saint and founder of the Sylvestrines religious order
• Sylvester of Assisi (died 1240), companion of Saint Francis of Assisi
• Sylvester of Worcester, early 13th century Bishop of Worcester

Given name

• Sylvester of Marsico (born c. 1100), Count of Marsico in the Kingdom of Sicily
• Silvester Diggles (1817–1880), Australian musician and ornithologist
• Sylvester Graham (1794–1851), Presbyterian minister, father of graham crackers
• Sylvester McCoy (born 1943), actor
• Sylvester (singer) (1947–1988), singer, disco performer, stage name Sylvester
• Sylvester Stallone (born 1946), actor
• Sylvester Mittee (born 1956), Saint Lucian/British boxer of the 1970s and '80s
• Sylvester Terkay (born 1970), American professional wrestler
• Sylvester Levay (born 1954), Hungarian musician