Name Help is a series at Appellation Mountain. Every week, one reader’s name questions will be discussed. We’re relying on thoughtful comments from the community to help expectant parents narrow down their name decisions. Thank you in advance for sharing your insight!

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THEY’VE (ALMOST) FOUND THE PERFECT NAME

Danielle writes:

My partner and I are expecting our first, and probably only, child this winter. We almost agree on a name: Silver, called Sylvie.

Silver is part of the story about how we met, so it’s the obvious choice. I like the way she’ll have the option to be Sylvie, which sounds very girlie, or Silver, which seems a little more neutral/mysterious.

We were all set until we tried to write her name down. Here’s where we need some advice:

  • If we name her Silver, can we shorten it to Sylvie? These are the spellings that I prefer; my partner feels like it’s a mismatch.
  • If it is a mismatch, which spelling do we change? Should she be Sylver, nickname Sylvie? Or Silver, nickname Silvie? Neither of those look right to me. My partner doesn’t have a strong opinion, except for objecting to Silver/Sylvie because it doesn’t make sense.
  • Should we maybe just name her Sylvie? I feel like we’d be giving up part of the reason we chose the name and I worry that Sylvie is too cute, if that makes sense.

Our daughter’s last name will sound like Bennett with a K.

Please read on for my response and leave your thoughtful suggestions in the comments.

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MAKING SENSE OF SPELLING

Abby replies:

Congratulations on your baby!

I hear your concerns. Silver seems like it should shorten to Sil- something, right?

Except … English is notoriously illogical. Not phonetic. Downright weird. Exhausting, even!

It’s tempting to list all of the nicknames that don’t quite make sense, even though we take them for granted. Why is Margaret shortened to Meg? Helen to Nell? John to Jack?!

Of course, those are traditional nicknames. Parents today tend to think like your partner – William is Will, not Bill; let’s call our Elizabeth Ellie, not Birdie or Betty or Lil.

So absent our shadowy knowledge that Jack comes from John, we like to keep it simple.

It’s just that keeping it simple isn’t all that easy.

A few considerations:

  • When you’re not sure about spelling, my general advice is to stick with the dominant choice. Not the “right” spelling. There’s rarely any such thing. But which is the most popular form at the moment?
  • When debating formal name/nickname or just nickname, I tend to advocate for both. Now, you do NOT need a formal name. But if you like a formal name and a nickname? Then the versatility this gives you and your child is worth pursuing.

What does that mean?

It’s time to look at the numbers, because some combination of Silver/Sylvie feels like the right choice.

Let’s consider the two names separately.

HOW SHOULD THEY SPELL SILVER?

The US Social Security Administration publishes data on every name given to at least five children of a single gender in any given calendar year. It’s not searchable on their site, but it can be downloaded here.

So let’s look at the numbers:

  • In 2023, 55 girls and 20 boys were named Silver.
  • An additional seven girls were named Sylver.
  • Spellings like Silvyr, Sillvyr, and Syllver didn’t register.

That’s pretty consistent. Silver has been used as a unisex name, in small numbers, since the late nineteenth century for boys and early twentieth century for girls. Sylver, on the other hand, debuted in the US data in 1983 and remains pretty uncommon.

To my mind, that’s an easy vote for Silver.

HOW SHOULD THEY SPELL HER NICKNAME?

So if Silver is the obvious choice for her given name, how should they shorten it?

This is actually slightly more complicated. Because there are LOTS of names derived from the Latin silva – forest – dating back to the ancient world.

Silver isn’t one of them. (The Latin word for silver is argentum.) Instead, silver comes from an uncertain source, possibly Germanic; maybe Slavic.

Regardless, American English tends to favor Syl- spellings.

From the current US Top 1000, we find:

  • Sylvia and Sylvie appear in the US Top 500.
  • Silas ranks in the boys’ Top 100. While it comes from Silvanus, the lack of a V sound makes it feel different.

Beyond the Top 1000:

  • We recognize Sylvester, as in Stone and the Cat.
  • There’s also Silvia, sometimes seen.
  • Silvie is rare – given to 12 girls in 2023 – but not unknown.

On balance, though? Sylvie (and Sylvia) are the dominant spellings. Tell someone your name is Sylvie, and that’s the way they’ll spell it.

WILL SILVER CALLED SYLVIE WORK?

My guess is that Silver nicknamed Sylvie will be absolutely fine.

Here’s why:

  • Sylvie is rising in use. It’s not common yet, but it’s familiar. And Sylvia had a good run, enough that we default to spelling the name Sylv.
  • The opposite is true for Silver. It’s never really been spelled Sylver. Names like Saylor and Scarlett are more popular than their dictionary equivalents Sailor and Scarlet. But that’s not the case here … so it’s hard to argue for Sylver.

Instead, I’d suggest you work to accept the disconnect between the two spellings. If Amelia can become Millie and Lucas shortens to Luke, then surely Silver called Sylvie is within the range of reasonable, right?

Because I do think the least ideal option is probably Sylver. It’s truly different and would require lots of spelling and explanation, in a way that Silver and Sylvie do not. I think Silver called Silvie is an alternative, but one that would probably cause lots of spelling, repetition, and explanation – which it seems like you’d prefer to avoid.

Readers, what do you think? Should their daughter be Silver/Sylvie? Sylver/Sylvie? Silver … Silvie? Or just Sylvie?

About Abby Sandel

Whether you're naming a baby, or just all about names, you've come to the right place! Appellation Mountain is a haven for lovers of obscure gems and enduring classics alike.

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What do you think?

16 Comments

  1. Yep… Silver nn Sylvie works best of all the spelling options. Ease of use really is clutch. In reality you won’t see nn and full name together often. Normally it is one or the other so the spelling dissonance will be minimal.

  2. Definitely Silver over Sylver. The second one looks like a contraction of Sylvester to me. Sylvie is a possibility and option for her in the future, but the reality name is Silver.
    Nickname spellings are way more versatile, too.
    Also, she may never be a nickname person, making Sylver an extra possible complication.

  3. If it really bothers your husband to have different spellings, it makes sense to name her Silver and use Silvie as the nickname.
    I say this because spelling mistakes on the formal name might cause bigger issues than spelling mistakes on the nickname, and the Silver spelling is more intuitive.
    And if your daughter dislikes the Silvie spelling, she can always change it easily, because it won’t be on any official documents.

  4. Your baby is going to have such a unique, beautiful name! I would be delighted if I met a baby Silver. It sounds to me like Silver feels the most meaningful, (though you do really love the nickname Sylvie!) so I do think you should keep Silver as is.

    I think Sylver/Sylvie is the option that will give you the most grief. Sylver is not an intuitive spelling, and as a formal name, that’s going to cause problems and lots of misspellings. And while I personally think people go overboard on a hatred of “kreeaytiff” names, Sylver is more likely going to come across that way and there are people who will have a negative reaction to that.

    The potential problems caused by a Silver that goes by Sylvie seem to me much smaller, as are the potential problems caused by a Silver that goes by Silvie.

    I get your husband’s point about wanting it to feel consistent. Lots of names are shortened to “(first-syllable)+ie”. It’s a common pattern. So Silvie feels like a totally natural nickname to Silver. If someone misspells it “Sylvie” you might not even care because it’s for something informal and doesn’t really matter in the given context, or if it is a situation where you want it corrected, you just say, “Oh, actually it’s Silvie with an “i” instead of a “y”. Her full name is Silver,” and people will probably be like, “Oh, I love that! What a cool name! Let me fix that for you real quick” and not give it another thought.

    But if it’s the opposite (“Oh, it’s actually spelled Sylver because her nickname is Sylvie”) I think that would come across more as overly confusing/backwards/weird.

    Really though at the end of the day, whatever option you go with, you’ve chosen a beautiful, meaningful name for your little girl- what a special gift.

    Good luck!

  5. This just makes me think of Catherine called Kate. Do they match? No. Does it matter? Also No. I think itโ€™s better for them not to match than for you to use a creative spelling of either name to force the match and spend the rest of your and her life explaining spelling. I also think this doesnโ€™t have to be solved now. Name her silver. Thats the only name on the birth certificate and see how the spelling of Sylvie evolves as she gets older and write it out.

  6. I think Sylvie still represents Silver pretty well, and it is an independent name, rather than a nickname. I would just name her Sylvie. But I think Silver/Sylvie works pretty well.

  7. I’m also team Silver nn spelling Sylvie. Nickname spellings are quite often non-intuitive. Although, for what it’s worth, I do like the look of Silvie too.

    My question for you is – if you have more kids, do you have an equally meaningful name for them? There are so many people who use the ‘best’ on their first and struggle with their second, so I wonder if thinking ahead to a possible sibling might even ease some of the questions about Silver/Sylvie/spelling. You’re wanting Sylvie to ‘give her options’, right? So one idea is to stick Silver in the middle spot, choose a first name you like too for if she wants options once she’s old enough to choose to go by Silver, then welcome her to the world as X Silver Bennett-with-a-K ‘baby Silver’. Then the nickname spelling issue is moot. Is there another name you both really like?

  8. “Just Sylvie” would be my personal pick, but if you prefer to use it as a nickname, I’d go for Silver nn Sylvie.

    Another point: If you think the spellings should match, I think it’d be better for the nickname rather than the legal name to have the non-standard spelling because 1) It’s easier to change the spelling of an unofficial nickname rather than the official name should she prefer to go with the more common form for each later on and 2) Misspellings are more likely to cause bureaucratic issues when it’s the legal name rather than a nickname.

    1. Silver called Sylvie makes the most sense ๐Ÿ™‚ I think Sylver or Silver “Silvie” will lend to more confusion/misspellings