Sylis is a modern spelling of Silas, the New Testament name that is usually seen as a short form of the Latin Silvanus, "of the forest", or linked to the Aramaic form of Saul, "asked for". Silas was Paul's companion on his missionary journeys, and its revival in the 2010s brought spellings like Sylas and Sylis with it. Sylis was too rare to be recorded in 2000; it peaked at number 1752 in 2013 and ranked number 2253 among US boys in 2025.