Silva

Silva is a surname of Portuguese or Galician origin which is widespread in the Portuguese-speaking countries including Brazil. The name is derived from Latin silva ("forest" or "woodland"). It is the family name of the House of Silva. The name is widespread in Galician-speaking regions of Spain (mostly in Galicia) and even more so in regions of the former Portuguese Empire in the Americas (being the most common surname in Brazil), in Africa and Asia, notably in India and Sri Lanka. It is also quite common in Spanish-speaking Latin America. Movement of people has led to the name being used in many places. Due to emigration from Portuguese-speaking countries, Silva (other variant forms include: "da Silva", "de Silva", "d'Silva", "e Silva", "Silvea") is the fifth most common surname in the French department of Val-de-Marne, outside Paris, and it was the 19th most common family name given to newborns between 1966 and 1990 in France.