Veleka
A feminine given name of Russian origin meaning "great" or "mighty".
Name Census estimates that about 133 living Americans carry the first name Veleka. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Veleka today is around 50 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Veleka births was 1978 (32 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Veleka. 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.
People living today
133
~ 1 in 2,577,100 Americans
Peak year
1978
32 babies that year
Average age
50
years old
1981 SSA rank
#12,123
Tracked since 1971
Census
Veleka in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 133 people with the first name Veleka, which placed it at #48,223 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
#48,223
National first-name rank
People counted
133
133 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
82.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Veleka
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Veleka is Black at 82.7%. The next largest groups are White (9.8%) and Hispanic (5.3%). 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 Veleka 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 Veleka at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American82.7% · 110
- White9.8% · 13
- Hispanic or Latino5.3% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 1
- Two or more races0.8% · 1
Popularity
Veleka: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Veleka from the 1970s through to the 1980s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 123 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Veleka 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 Veleka during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Velekas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Veleka
Veleka is a name of ancient Slavic origin, derived from the Proto-Slavic word "veliky," meaning "great" or "mighty." This name first appeared in the 9th century among the Slavic tribes that inhabited the regions of present-day Eastern Europe and the Balkans.
The earliest recorded use of the name Veleka dates back to the 10th century, when it was mentioned in the Novgorod Birch Bark Documents, a collection of ancient Slavic texts found in the city of Novgorod, Russia. These documents were written on birch bark and provide valuable insights into the daily lives and customs of the Slavic people during that era.
In the 12th century, the name Veleka was mentioned in the Laurentian Codex, a medieval Russian chronicle that recorded important events and figures from the foundation of the Kievan Rus' until the early 13th century. This suggests that the name was widely used among the Slavic nobility and ruling classes during that period.
One of the earliest notable individuals with the name Veleka was Veleka Dobrinsky, a prominent Boyar (nobleman) who lived in the late 11th century and served as a military commander under Prince Vladimir Monomakh of Kievan Rus'. Veleka Dobrinsky was known for his bravery and military exploits during the wars against the Polovtsian nomadic tribes.
Another historical figure with the name Veleka was Veleka Gordeyevich, a wealthy merchant and landowner who lived in the 14th century in the city of Novgorod. He was renowned for his philanthropic activities and contributions to the construction of churches and monasteries in the region.
In the 16th century, Veleka Kurbsky was a prominent Russian noble and military leader who served under Tsar Ivan the Terrible. He is best known for his participation in the Livonian War against the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and his later defection to Lithuania due to his disagreements with the Tsar's policies.
During the 17th century, Veleka Naryshkin was a notable Russian aristocrat and the mother of Tsar Peter the Great. She played a crucial role in the upbringing and education of her son, who went on to become one of Russia's most influential rulers and reformers.
In the 19th century, Veleka Tolstaya was a renowned Russian writer and philanthropist. She was a member of the illustrious Tolstoy family and is remembered for her contributions to literature and her work in promoting education and social welfare initiatives.
While the name Veleka has its roots in Slavic culture, it has been adopted and used in various forms across different regions and languages over the centuries, attesting to its enduring appeal and historical significance.
People
Veleka + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Veleka as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with V
Other first names starting with V with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Veleka: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Veleka?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 133 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Veleka 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 2,577,100 US residents.
Is Veleka a common name?
We classify Veleka as "Very Rare". It ranks above 68.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 146 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Veleka most popular?
The single biggest year for Veleka was 1978, when 32 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Veleka is about 50 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Veleka in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 133 people with the name Veleka, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #48,223 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 Veleka 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 Veleka?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Veleka appears almost entirely female. Of the 127 people counted with this name, 100.0% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Veleka?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Veleka is Black at 82.7%. The next largest groups are White (9.8%) and Hispanic (5.3%). 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 Veleka most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Veleka in the 2020 Census, accounting for 82.7% (110 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 Veleka in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Veleka a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Veleka 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 Veleka still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Veleka 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 Veleka 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 many people are called Veleka?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.