Silvia comes from the Latin silva and means "forest" or "woods"; in Roman legend Rhea Silvia was the mother of Romulus and Remus, the founders of Rome. The spelling without a y is the standard form in Italian, Spanish and German, and Queen Silvia of Sweden has borne it since 1976. In the United States Silvia stood at number 853 in 2000, soon left the top 1000 and ranks number 1,240 in 2025.