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.

For other uses, see Sylvester (disambiguation).

Given name

• Sylvester of Marsico (c. 1100-1162), 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 James Jr. (1947–1988), also known as Sylvester, a singer and disco performer
• Sylvester Stewart (born 1943), or Sly Stone, musician and record producer, best known as the frontman for Sly and the Family Stone
• 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

Churchpeople

• 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 Antioch, 18th century Greek bishop
• Sylvester of Worcester, early 13th century Bishop of Worcester

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
• Marc Sylvester, American middle-distance runner
• Michael Sylvester (politician), American politician and labor organizer
• Michael Sylvester (tenor), American opera-singer
• Rick Sylvester, American stuntman
• Robin Sylvester, English musician
• Sherry Sylvester, American political worker and journalist
• Walter Sylvester (1867–1944), English inventor
• William Sylvester, American TV and film actor
• William Henry Thomas Sylvester, English army officer and surgeon

Fictional characters

• Sylvester the Cat, 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
• Sylvester Rax, an antagonist in the 1985 animated show M.A.S.K. (TV series)
• Sylvester McMonkey McBean, a character in the Dr. Seuss book The Sneetches and Other Stories
• Sylvester "Sylvie" Ashling, a side character in the mini series "Epithet Erased"

See also

• Saint Sylvester's Day