Paul, Silvanus, and Timothy, to the assembly of the Thessalonians in God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ: Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Silvanus was chosen by Paul following the dispute with Barnabas (Acts 15:40), and Timothy was recruited from Lystra where Paul had been stoned (Acts 16:1); thus both were identified with Paul on the second missionary journey and extensively thereafter.  Hendriksen pointed out that the English adjective "sylvan" and the proper name "Pennsylvania" carry remnants of the ancient name of Silvanus.  "Originally, it was the name of the god of the woods."[1] Many of the primitive Christians were named after the pagan gods, as in the outstanding instance of Apollos, but there is no record that any Of them ever changed their names on this account, indicating that it was considered perfectly proper, many personal names, of course, having been handed down from family to family.