Laverna
A feminine name derived from the Latin root meaning "to cleanse".
Name Census estimates that about 847 living Americans carry the first name Laverna. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Laverna today is around 73 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Laverna births was 1920 (127 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Laverna. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Laverna is about 73 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Lavernas were born before 1963.
People living today
847
~ 1 in 404,669 Americans
Peak year
1920
127 babies that year
Average age
73
years old
1985 SSA rank
#8,841
Tracked since 1889
Census
Laverna in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,207 people with the first name Laverna, which placed it at #10,855 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#10,855
National first-name rank
People counted
1.2K
1,207 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.4
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
70.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Laverna
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Laverna is White at 70.2%. The next largest groups are Black (18.3%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (6.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Laverna described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Laverna at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White70.2% · 847
- Black or African American18.3% · 221
- American Indian and Alaska Native6.3% · 76
- Two or more races2.2% · 27
- Hispanic or Latino2.1% · 25
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 11
Popularity
Laverna: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Laverna from the 1880s through to the 1980s, spanning 11 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 1,051 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Laverna by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Laverna during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lavernas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 22 states and territories. Nebraska, Kansas, Wisconsin recorded the most babies named Laverna, while New Mexico, Indiana, Idaho recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 60 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Laverna
The name Laverna originated from the ancient Roman goddess of the same name, who was the protector of thieves, fraudsters, and the underworld. The name is derived from the Latin word "lavare," which means "to wash" or "to cleanse," referring to the goddess's ability to cleanse her followers of their wrongdoings.
Laverna was a relatively obscure goddess in Roman mythology, with her cult primarily centered in Rome itself. She was often associated with the goddess Fortuna, who represented luck and fortune. Laverna's festival, known as the Lavernalia, was celebrated on the 23rd of March.
One of the earliest recorded mentions of the name Laverna can be found in the writings of the Roman poet Horace, who lived from 65 BC to 8 BC. In his work "Epistles," Horace refers to Laverna as the patron goddess of thieves and swindlers, highlighting her association with the underworld.
Throughout history, the name Laverna has been relatively uncommon, likely due to its association with the goddess of thieves and fraudsters. However, there are a few notable individuals who have borne this name:
1. Laverna Siqueiras (1884-1948), a Brazilian poet and writer known for her works exploring themes of love, nature, and feminism.
2. Laverna Defoe (1919-1996), an American sculptor and artist known for her abstract bronze sculptures.
3. Laverna Neher (1926-2017), an American botanist and academic who specialized in the study of plant taxonomy and systematics.
4. Laverna Acosta (1935-2022), a Puerto Rican singer and actress who performed in various Latin American countries.
5. Laverna Torgerson (1942-present), an American politician who served as the mayor of Bozeman, Montana, from 1993 to 2001.
Despite its ancient Roman origins, the name Laverna has remained relatively uncommon throughout history, likely due to its association with the goddess of thieves and the underworld. However, it has been used by a few notable individuals in various fields, showcasing its unique and intriguing background.
People
Laverna + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Laverna as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Laverna: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Laverna?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 847 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Laverna going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 404,669 US residents.
Is Laverna a common name?
We classify Laverna as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,733 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Laverna most popular?
The single biggest year for Laverna was 1920, when 127 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Laverna is about 73 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Laverna in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,207 people with the name Laverna, or 0.40 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #10,855 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Laverna in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Laverna?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Laverna leans strongly female. 1,194 people counted with this name were female (98.9%), compared with 13 male bearers (1.1%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Laverna?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Laverna is White at 70.2%. The next largest groups are Black (18.3%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (6.3%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Laverna most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Laverna in the 2020 Census, accounting for 70.2% (847 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Laverna in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Laverna a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Laverna in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Laverna still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Laverna in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Laverna can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How common is the name Laverna?
For a quick modern take, check how many Americans are named Laverna on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.