Vonna
A feminine name with origins in the Latin name "Bona", meaning virtuous or good.
Name Census estimates that about 534 living Americans carry the first name Vonna. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Vonna today is around 69 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Vonna births was 1960 (36 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Vonna. 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 Vonna is about 69 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Vonnas were born before 1967.
People living today
534
~ 1 in 641,862 Americans
Peak year
1960
36 babies that year
Average age
69
years old
2021 SSA rank
#17,511
Tracked since 1915
Census
Vonna in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 784 people with the first name Vonna, which placed it at #14,861 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
#14,861
National first-name rank
People counted
784
784 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
81.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Vonna
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Vonna is White at 81.0%. The next largest groups are Black (9.9%) and Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Vonna 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 Vonna at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White81.0% · 635
- Black or African American9.9% · 78
- Two or more races4.0% · 31
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.8% · 22
- Hispanic or Latino1.4% · 11
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 7
Popularity
Vonna: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Vonna from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 256 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Vonna 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 Vonna during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Vonnas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 5 states and territories. California, Missouri, Illinois recorded the most babies named Vonna, while West Virginia, Texas, Illinois recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 7 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Vonna
The name Vonna has its roots in the German language and is believed to have originated in the Middle Ages. It is a feminine name derived from the Old High German name Wunna, which means "joy" or "delight." The name Vonna was particularly popular in Central Europe, particularly in regions like Germany, Austria, and Switzerland.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Vonna can be found in the 12th-century German epic poem "Nibelungenlied." In this literary work, a character named Vonna is mentioned, though her role is relatively minor. This suggests that the name was in use during that time period, at least among the Germanic peoples.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Vonna. One of the earliest was Vonna von Dornberg (c. 1350-1410), a German noblewoman and landowner who lived during the late Middle Ages. She is remembered for her involvement in a legal dispute over land ownership, which was eventually resolved in her favor.
In the 16th century, there was Vonna von Büren (1516-1587), a Swiss nun and writer who authored several religious texts and was known for her piety and devotion to the Catholic faith. Her works were widely read and influential in her time.
Moving into the modern era, one notable figure was Vonna Michell (1888-1967), an American journalist and author who wrote extensively about the American West and the experiences of pioneers and settlers. Her book "The Golden West" (1932) was a popular work that chronicled the lives of those who ventured into the western territories of the United States.
Another prominent individual with the name Vonna was Vonna Harper (1923-2018), an American actress and singer who appeared in several Broadway productions and Hollywood films in the mid-20th century. She was particularly known for her roles in musicals and her powerful vocal abilities.
Finally, it's worth mentioning Vonna Everett (1909-1992), an American artist and sculptor who gained recognition for her abstract works and contributions to the modernist art movement. Her sculptures and installations were featured in numerous galleries and exhibitions throughout her career.
These are just a few examples of individuals who carried the name Vonna throughout history, showcasing its enduring presence across various cultures and time periods, despite its relatively obscure origins.
People
Vonna + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Vonna 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
Vonna: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Vonna?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 534 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Vonna 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 641,862 US residents.
Is Vonna a common name?
We classify Vonna as "Very Rare". It ranks above 85.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,095 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Vonna most popular?
The single biggest year for Vonna was 1960, when 36 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Vonna is about 69 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Vonna in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 784 people with the name Vonna, or 0.26 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #14,861 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 Vonna 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 Vonna?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Vonna appears almost entirely female. Of the 785 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 Vonna?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Vonna is White at 81.0%. The next largest groups are Black (9.9%) and Two or More Races (4.0%). 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 Vonna most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Vonna in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.0% (635 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 Vonna in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Vonna a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Vonna 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 Vonna still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Vonna 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 Vonna 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 Americans are named Vonna?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.