Sylvan, Silvan or Sylvian refers to an association with the woods

Woodland

Ecologically, a woodland is a low-density forest forming open habitats with plenty of sunlight and limited shade. Woodlands may support an understory of shrubs and herbaceous plants including grasses. Woodland may form a transition to shrubland under drier conditions or during early stages of...

. Specifically, that which inhabits the wood, is made of tree

Tree

A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...

 materials, or comprises the forest

Forest

A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...

 itself. The term can also refer to a person who resides in the woods or a spirit of the wood. In mythology, the term also refers to deities or spirits of the woods.

The term in English is from the Latin silva meaning "forest, woods." This root is found in place names in Canada such as Sylvan Lake  http://www.sylvanlake.ca/ (as in wooded lake) in Alberta, Sylvan Valley Regional Park Reserve in Saskatchewan, and in the U.S.A. like Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

 (lit. "Penn's woods") and Spotsylvania. The first names Sylvester

Sylvester

Sylvester is a name derived from the Latin adjective silvestris meaning "wooded" or "wild", which derives from the noun silva meaning "woodland". Classical Latin spells this with i. In Classical Latin y represented a separate sound distinct from i, not a native Latin sound but one used in...

and Sylva(i)n, and the female name Sylvia/Silvia, are also from the Latin word.

Notable examples

In the Chronicles of Narnia, silvans are tree spirits, appearing primarily in the fourth book of the series, Prince Caspian

Prince Caspian

Prince Caspian: The Return to Narnia is a novel for children by C. S. Lewis, written in late 1949 and first published in 1951. It is the second-published book in the Chronicles of Narnia series, although in the overall chronological sequence it comes fourth.-Plot summary:While standing on a...

. In J. R. R. Tolkien

J. R. R. Tolkien

John Ronald Reuel Tolkien, CBE was an English writer, poet, philologist, and university professor, best known as the author of the classic high fantasy works The Hobbit, The Lord of the Rings, and The Silmarillion.Tolkien was Rawlinson and Bosworth Professor of Anglo-Saxon at Pembroke College,...

's Middle-earth

Middle-earth

Middle-earth is the fictional setting of the majority of author J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy writings. The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings take place entirely in Middle-earth, as does much of The Silmarillion and Unfinished Tales....

 books, there is a division of Elves residing in forested realms referred to as Silvan Elves

Silvan Elves

Silvan Elves are an ethnic group of Elves in J. R. R. Tolkien's fictional universe of Middle-earth, mainly the Elves of Mirkwood and Lothlórien.In the First Age the Elves of Ossiriand, or Laiquendi, were also referred to as wood-elves....

.

In the Dungeons & Dragons

Dungeons & Dragons

Dungeons & Dragons is a fantasy role-playing game originally designed by Gary Gygax and Dave Arneson, and first published in 1974 by Tactical Studies Rules, Inc. . The game has been published by Wizards of the Coast since 1997...

role playing game, Sylvan is the language of all magical creatures associated with the wilderness, such as fairies, dryad

Dryad

Dryads are tree nymphs in Greek mythology. In Greek drys signifies 'oak,' from an Indo-European root *derew- 'tree' or 'wood'. Thus Dryads are specifically the nymphs of oak trees, though the term has come to be used for all tree nymphs in general...

s, centaur

Centaur

In Greek mythology, a centaur or hippocentaur is a member of a composite race of creatures, part human and part horse...

s and such.

In the computer game Heroes of Might and Magic V

Heroes of Might and Magic V

Heroes of Might and Magic V is the fifth installment of the Heroes of Might and Magic turn-based strategy video game series. It was developed by Nival Interactive, under the guidance of franchise-owner Ubisoft...

, Sylvan is a playable faction, featuring the Elves and other mythical forest creatures such as Sprites

Sprite (creature)

The term sprite is a broad term referring to a number of preternatural legendary creatures. The term is generally used in reference to elf-like creatures, including fairies, and similar beings , but can also signify various spiritual beings, including ghosts. In Eoin Colfer's Artemis Fowl books,...

, Unicorn

Unicorn

The unicorn is a legendary animal from European folklore that resembles a white horse with a large, pointed, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead, and sometimes a goat's beard...

s, Treants and Dragons.

In the computer role-playing game "Dragon Age: Origins

Dragon Age: Origins

Dragon Age: Origins is a single-player role-playing video game developed by BioWare's Edmonton studio and published by Electronic Arts. It is the first game in the Dragon Age franchise...

," the player's party battles living trees known as Sylvans in the Brecillian Forest. In the lore of the game, the trees are actually possessed by demonic spirits which have gone mad because they are trapped in the tree without being able to see or hear.