Silas (name) The Latin name "Silvanus" may be derived from pre-Roman Italian languages. Silas (name) Silas is a common given name and a lesser-known surname. It is a cognate of Silvanus. Silas as a name today comes from the early Christian disciple Silas. He is consistently called "Silas" in Acts, but the Latin Silvanus, which means "of the forest," is always used by Paul and in the First Epistle of Peter; it is likely that "Silvanus" is the Romanized version of the original "Silas," or that "Silas" is the Greek nickname for "Silvanus." It has been suggested that Silas is the Greek
Dorothy (given name) Dorothy (given name) Dorothy is a female given name. It comes from Greek Δωροθέα ("Dōrothéa") meaning "God's Gift", from δῶρον ("dōron"), "gift" + θεός ("theós"), "god". Although much less common, there are also male equivalents in English such as "Dory" from the Greek masculine Δωρόθεος ("Dōrótheos"). Also, the given names Theodore and Theodora are derived from the same two Greek root words as Dorothy, albeit reversed in order. The name is variously abbreviated to "Dot", "Dotty" and "Doll". Dorothy was a less common variant of Dorothea, until it became more common and one of the top 10 most popular girl's