Virgia
A feminine name of unknown origin, potentially related to the Latin word "virga" meaning "branch" or "rod".
Name Census estimates that about 160 living Americans carry the first name Virgia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Virgia today is around 81 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Virgia births was 1919 (42 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Virgia. 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 Virgia is about 81 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Virgias were born before 1955.
People living today
160
~ 1 in 2,142,215 Americans
Peak year
1919
42 babies that year
Average age
81
years old
1967 SSA rank
#6,024
Tracked since 1885
Census
Virgia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 228 people with the first name Virgia, which placed it at #35,335 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
#35,335
National first-name rank
People counted
228
228 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
52.2% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Virgia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Virgia is Black at 52.2%. The next largest groups are White (38.2%) and Hispanic (7.5%). 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 Virgia 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 Virgia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American52.2% · 119
- White38.2% · 87
- Hispanic or Latino7.5% · 17
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.3% · 3
- Two or more races0.9% · 2
Popularity
Virgia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Virgia from the 1880s through to the 1960s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 329 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
Virgia 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 Virgia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Virgias live
The SSA's state-level files cover 7 states and territories. Mississippi, Arkansas, Tennessee recorded the most babies named Virgia, while North Carolina, Alabama, Louisiana recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 30 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Virgia
The given name Virgia has its origins in the Latin language, dating back to ancient Roman times. It is derived from the Latin word "virgo," which means "virgin" or "maiden." This name was likely given to girls or women associated with the Roman goddess of virginity, Virgo.
In Roman mythology, Virgo was one of the most revered deities, often depicted as a young, virtuous woman carrying a sheaf of wheat. The name Virgia may have been used to honor or pay tribute to this goddess, representing purity, fertility, and the cycle of life.
Historically, the name Virgia was popular among Roman families, particularly those of noble or aristocratic backgrounds. It can be found inscribed on ancient Roman tombstones, indicating its use as a personal name during that era.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Virgia can be found in the writings of the Roman historian Livy, who mentioned a woman named Virgia Opiterna in his work "Ab Urbe Condita" (History of Rome), written around 27-25 BC.
Throughout the centuries, several notable individuals have borne the name Virgia. One of the most renowned was Virgia Aciliana (c. 470 AD - 536 AD), a Roman noblewoman and philosopher who contributed to the preservation of classical literature during the transition from the Roman Empire to the Middle Ages.
Another historical figure with the name Virgia was Virgia Aureliana (c. 675 AD - 738 AD), a Frankish abbess and scholar who played a significant role in the development of early medieval education and the preservation of ancient texts.
In the 12th century, Virgia Malaspina (c. 1153 - 1221) was an Italian noblewoman and patron of the arts, known for her support of poets and writers during the flourishing of the Renaissance in Italy.
During the Renaissance period, Virgia Gambara (c. 1490 - 1550) was an Italian poet and scholar, renowned for her literary works and her patronage of the arts and sciences.
In more recent times, Virgia Rakić (1919 - 1996) was a Serbian painter and sculptor, recognized for her contributions to the modern art movement in the Balkans.
While the name Virgia has its roots in ancient Roman culture, it has been used across various regions and time periods, reflecting its enduring connection to the ideals of purity, virtue, and the reverence for the natural world.
People
Virgia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Virgia 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
Virgia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Virgia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 160 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Virgia 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 2,142,215 US residents.
Is Virgia a common name?
We classify Virgia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,208 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Virgia most popular?
The single biggest year for Virgia was 1919, when 42 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Virgia is about 81 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Virgia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 228 people with the name Virgia, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #35,335 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 Virgia 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 Virgia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Virgia appears almost entirely female. Of the 237 people counted with this name, 99.2% 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 Virgia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Virgia is Black at 52.2%. The next largest groups are White (38.2%) and Hispanic (7.5%). 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 Virgia most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Virgia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 52.2% (119 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 Virgia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Virgia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Virgia 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 Virgia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Virgia 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 Virgia 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 Virgia?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.