Family name Silev (Silev 
, Силев 
) , across the world, is a very rare cognomen. The cognomen Silev is characteristic of Bulgaria, where it is a rare surname, Kyrgyzstan, where it is a very rare surname, and Russia. In absolute terms, the name is most common in Russia, Bulgaria, and Germany. Much less frequently, Silev is the forename as well as the last name.