Velvet
A soft, smooth fabric with a thick, dense pile.
Name Census estimates that about 2,633 living Americans carry the first name Velvet. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Velvet today is around 51 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Velvet births was 1961 (332 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Velvet. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Velvet with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
2.6K
~ 1 in 130,176 Americans
Peak year
1961
332 babies that year
Average age
51
years old
1941 SSA rank
#3,972
Tracked since 1920
Census
Velvet in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 2,587 people with the first name Velvet, which placed it at #6,243 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
#6,243
National first-name rank
People counted
2.6K
2,587 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.9
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
54.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Velvet
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Velvet is White at 54.5%. The next largest groups are Black (26.1%) and Hispanic (10.5%). 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 Velvet 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 Velvet at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White54.5% · 1,411
- Black or African American26.1% · 676
- Hispanic or Latino10.5% · 272
- Two or more races5.4% · 140
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.2% · 56
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 32
Gender
Gender distribution for Velvet
Out of the 3,088 babies given the name Velvet since 1880, 99.8% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Velvet as a male name
- Ranked #3,972 in 1941
- 5 male births in 1941
- Peak: 1941 (5 births)
Velvet as a female name
- Ranked #9,482 in 2024
- 11 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1961 (332 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Velvet leans strongly female. 2,560 people counted with this name were female (98.9%), compared with 28 male bearers (1.1%).
Popularity
Velvet: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Velvet from the 1920s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 1,257 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Velvet 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 Velvet during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Velvets live
The SSA's state-level files cover 26 states and territories. California, North Carolina, Texas recorded the most babies named Velvet, while Oklahoma, Kansas, District of Columbia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 43 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Velvet
The name Velvet is a relatively modern given name that emerged in the English-speaking world during the 20th century. It is derived from the luxurious fabric of the same name, which itself traces its origins to the Italian word "velluto," meaning "shaggy cloth."
While there are no known historical references to Velvet as a given name in ancient texts or religious scriptures, the fabric velvet has a rich history dating back to the Middle Ages. It was first manufactured in the Italian cities of Venice and Genoa, and later became a highly sought-after luxury item among European nobility.
The earliest recorded use of Velvet as a first name can be found in the late 19th century, although it was still relatively uncommon at the time. One of the earliest known individuals with the name was Velvet Hayter, an American author born in 1952.
Throughout the 20th century, the name Velvet gained popularity, particularly in the United States. Notable individuals with the first name Velvet include:
1. Velvet Revolver, an American rock supergroup formed in 2002, named after the famous velvet underground movement in the 1960s.
2. Velvet Jones, an American actress born in 1953, best known for her role in the cult classic film "Russ Meyer's Mondo Topless."
3. Velvet Milkman, an American singer-songwriter and musician born in 1957, known for her folk-rock style.
4. Velvet McIntyre, an American actress and model born in 1984, who has appeared in several television shows and films.
5. Velvet Moniker, an American musician and performance artist born in the late 20th century, known for her experimental electronic music and avant-garde performances.
While the name Velvet has gained some popularity in recent decades, it remains a relatively uncommon given name, often chosen for its unique and evocative qualities, conjuring images of luxury, softness, and artistic expression.
People
Velvet + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Velvet 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
Velvet: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Velvet?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 2,633 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Velvet 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 130,176 US residents.
Is Velvet a common name?
We classify Velvet as "Rare". It ranks above 94.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 3,088 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Velvet most popular?
The single biggest year for Velvet was 1961, when 332 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Velvet is about 51 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Velvet in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 2,587 people with the name Velvet, or 0.86 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #6,243 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 Velvet 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 Velvet?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Velvet leans strongly female. 2,560 people counted with this name were female (98.9%), compared with 28 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 Velvet?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Velvet is White at 54.5%. The next largest groups are Black (26.1%) and Hispanic (10.5%). 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 Velvet most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Velvet in the 2020 Census, accounting for 54.5% (1,411 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 Velvet in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Velvet a female name?
Yes, 99.8% of people registered as Velvet 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 Velvet still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Velvet 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 Velvet 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 have the name Velvet?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.