Vernia
A feminine name potentially originating from Latin, meaning "womanly" or "true woman".
Name Census estimates that about 303 living Americans carry the first name Vernia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Vernia today is around 75 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Vernia births was 1917 (40 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Vernia. 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 Vernia is about 75 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Vernias were born before 1961.
People living today
303
~ 1 in 1,131,202 Americans
Peak year
1917
40 babies that year
Average age
75
years old
1973 SSA rank
#9,760
Tracked since 1885
Census
Vernia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 363 people with the first name Vernia, which placed it at #25,907 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
#25,907
National first-name rank
People counted
363
363 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
58.1% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Vernia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Vernia is Black at 58.1%. The next largest groups are White (36.9%) and Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Vernia 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 Vernia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American58.1% · 211
- White36.9% · 134
- Two or more races3.0% · 11
- Hispanic or Latino1.4% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.3% · 1
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.3% · 1
Popularity
Vernia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Vernia 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 289 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
Vernia 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 Vernia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Vernias live
The SSA's state-level files cover 9 states and territories. Tennessee, Kentucky, North Carolina recorded the most babies named Vernia, while Texas, Oklahoma, Louisiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 13 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Vernia
The name Vernia is believed to have its origins in the ancient Germanic languages, with roots that can be traced back to the early medieval period. One possible derivation is from the Old Germanic word "farn," which means "journey" or "travel." This could suggest that the name was originally borne by those who were wanderers or explorers.
Another theory links Vernia to the Old Norse name "Vernemundr," which is composed of the elements "vern" (protection) and "mundr" (protector or guardian). This interpretation implies that the name may have been given to individuals who were seen as protectors or guardians within their communities.
In the historical records, one of the earliest known bearers of the name Vernia was a Frankish nobleman who lived in the 7th century. He was a loyal vassal of the Merovingian kings and played a significant role in the consolidation of Frankish power in the region that is now modern-day France.
During the High Middle Ages, the name appears to have spread throughout various regions of Europe. In the 11th century, a Vernia was mentioned in the records of the Benedictine monastery in Cluny, France, as a benefactor who donated land to the monastic order.
In the 13th century, a Vernia was recorded as a prominent merchant and trader in the city of Venice, Italy. This individual was known for his extensive trade networks and successful business ventures, which contributed to the economic prosperity of the Venetian Republic.
Another notable figure bearing the name Vernia was a 14th-century German knight who fought alongside the Teutonic Knights during the Northern Crusades. He was celebrated for his bravery and skill on the battlefield, and his name was immortalized in the chronicles of the Order.
In the 15th century, a Vernia was a renowned scholar and philosopher who taught at the University of Paris. His writings on metaphysics and natural philosophy were widely influential during the Renaissance period.
While these historical examples provide a glimpse into the diverse backgrounds and accomplishments of individuals named Vernia, it is important to note that the name has likely been borne by countless others whose stories have been lost to time.
People
Vernia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Vernia 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
Vernia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Vernia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 303 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Vernia 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 1,131,202 US residents.
Is Vernia a common name?
We classify Vernia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 79.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,288 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Vernia most popular?
The single biggest year for Vernia was 1917, when 40 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Vernia is about 75 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Vernia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 363 people with the name Vernia, or 0.12 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #25,907 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 Vernia 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 Vernia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Vernia leans strongly female. 352 people counted with this name were female (96.2%), compared with 14 male bearers (3.8%). 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 Vernia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Vernia is Black at 58.1%. The next largest groups are White (36.9%) and Two or More Races (3.0%). 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 Vernia most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Vernia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 58.1% (211 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 Vernia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Vernia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Vernia 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 Vernia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Vernia 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 Vernia 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 Vernia as a first name?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Vernia on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.