Verlie
A variant feminine form of the French surname Verlier, derived from Old French words meaning "true green".
Name Census estimates that about 353 living Americans carry the first name Verlie. It is a predominantly female name (92.8% of registrations). The average person named Verlie today is around 80 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Verlie births was 1917 (82 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Verlie. 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 Verlie is about 80 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Verlies were born before 1956.
People living today
353
~ 1 in 970,975 Americans
Peak year
1917
82 babies that year
Average age
80
years old
1951 SSA rank
#4,226
Tracked since 1887
Census
Verlie in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 580 people with the first name Verlie, which placed it at #18,544 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
#18,544
National first-name rank
People counted
580
580 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
66.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Verlie
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Verlie is White at 66.0%. The next largest groups are Black (27.6%) and Two or More Races (2.6%). 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 Verlie 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 Verlie at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White66.0% · 383
- Black or African American27.6% · 160
- Two or more races2.6% · 15
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.2% · 13
- Hispanic or Latino1.4% · 8
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 1
Gender
Gender distribution for Verlie
Verlie leans heavily female at 92.8% of total registrations, but 178 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Verlie as a male name
- Ranked #4,226 in 1951
- 5 male births in 1951
- Peak: 1920 (12 births)
Verlie as a female name
- Ranked #9,316 in 1970
- 5 female births in 1970
- Peak: 1917 (77 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Verlie leans strongly female. 510 people counted with this name were female (88.2%), compared with 68 male bearers (11.8%).
Popularity
Verlie: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Verlie from the 1880s through to the 1970s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 651 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
Verlie 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 Verlie during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Verlies live
The SSA's state-level files cover 14 states and territories. North Carolina, Louisiana, Kentucky recorded the most babies named Verlie, while South Carolina, Oklahoma, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 38 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Verlie
The name Verlie is an English given name that originated in the late 19th century. It is believed to be a combination of the French name Vere and the English name Lily. The name Vere is derived from the Latin word "verus," meaning "true" or "real." Lily, on the other hand, is a flower name that comes from the Latin word "lilium."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Verlie can be found in the 1880 United States Census, where a few individuals were listed with this name. However, it was not until the early 20th century that the name gained some popularity, particularly in the southern states of the United States.
While the name Verlie does not appear to have any significant historical references or mentions in ancient texts or religious scriptures, there have been several notable individuals who have borne this name throughout history.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Verlie was Verlie A. Colson (1892-1982), an American educator and school administrator from Tennessee. She served as the principal of several schools in the state and was actively involved in educational organizations.
Another noteworthy individual was Verlie B. Randall (1908-1996), an American author and historian from Alabama. She wrote several books on the history of Alabama and the American South, including "The Randall Family: A Story of Courage and Honor" and "Alabama Heritage."
In the field of music, Verlie Vickers (1907-1984) was an American singer and songwriter from Oklahoma. She is best known for her recordings of traditional folk songs and her contributions to the preservation of American folk music.
Verlie Murphree (1925-2014) was an American baseball player who played in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League during the 1940s. She played for the Fort Wayne Daisies and was considered one of the league's top pitchers.
Verlie Cofer (1932-2022) was an American artist and sculptor from Texas. Her works have been exhibited in numerous galleries and museums across the United States, and she is particularly known for her sculptures depicting scenes from rural life and Native American culture.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have borne the name Verlie throughout history. While not a widely popular name, it has been used consistently in various regions, particularly in the southern United States, and has been carried by individuals who have made significant contributions in various fields.
People
Verlie + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Verlie 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
Verlie: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Verlie?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 353 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Verlie 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 970,975 US residents.
Is Verlie a common name?
We classify Verlie as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,460 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Verlie most popular?
The single biggest year for Verlie was 1917, when 82 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Verlie is about 80 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Verlie in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 580 people with the name Verlie, or 0.19 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #18,544 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 Verlie 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 Verlie?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Verlie leans strongly female. 510 people counted with this name were female (88.2%), compared with 68 male bearers (11.8%). 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 Verlie?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Verlie is White at 66.0%. The next largest groups are Black (27.6%) and Two or More Races (2.6%). 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 Verlie most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Verlie in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.0% (383 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 Verlie in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Verlie a female name?
Yes, 92.8% of people registered as Verlie 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 Verlie still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Verlie 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 Verlie 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 named Verlie?
Find out how many Americans are named Verlie on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.