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
Ivan (name) It is the Slavic relative of the Latin name "Johannes", corresponding to English "John". This Slavic version of the name originates from New Testament Greek "" ("Iōánnēs") rather than from the Latin "Io(h)annes". The Greek name is in turn derived from Hebrew יוֹחָנָן ("Yôḥānān"), meaning "YHWH (God) is gracious". The name is ultimately derived from the Biblical Hebrew name יוחנן (), short for יהוחנן (), meaning "God is merciful". Common patronymics derived from the name are Ivanović (Serbo-Croatian), Ivanov (Russian and Bulgarian), and Ivanovich (Russian, used as middle name), corresponding to "Ivan's son". The name is common among Russians, Ukrainians,