Vanity
Excessive pride in one's appearance or accomplishments; excessive self-admiration.
Name Census estimates that about 1,790 living Americans carry the first name Vanity. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Vanity today is around 27 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Vanity births was 1988 (116 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Vanity. 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.
People living today
1.8K
~ 1 in 191,483 Americans
Peak year
1988
116 babies that year
Average age
27
years old
2024 SSA rank
#6,592
Tracked since 1982
Popularity
Vanity: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Vanity from the 1980s through to the 2020s, spanning 5 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 592 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Vanity 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 Vanity during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Vanitys live
The SSA's state-level files cover 17 states and territories. Texas, California, New York recorded the most babies named Vanity, while Washington, Ohio, Missouri recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 49 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Vanity
The name Vanity is derived from the Latin word "vanitas," which means emptiness, futility, or worthlessness. It stems from the Latin adjective "vanus," meaning empty or vain. The name's origins can be traced back to ancient Rome, where it was likely used as a descriptor or epithet rather than a proper name.
In the Christian tradition, the concept of vanity is often associated with excessive pride, arrogance, and an excessive love of worldly pleasures and possessions. The Book of Ecclesiastes in the Old Testament frequently references vanity, warning against the pursuit of wealth, power, and earthly desires as ultimately meaningless and unfulfilling.
One of the earliest recorded instances of Vanity as a given name dates back to the 17th century. Vanity Fair, a celebrated novel by William Makepeace Thackeray published in 1847-48, features a character named Vanity. This literary reference may have contributed to the name's popularity in the English-speaking world.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Vanity. Vanity Duriez (1972-1997) was a Canadian poet and writer. Vanity Fair (1959-), born Denise Katrina Matthews, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress best known for her work in the 1980s with the funk band Vanity 6.
Vanity Pomrenke (1983-) is a former American reality television personality who appeared on the shows "Rock of Love" and "I Love Money." Vanity Adonis (1958-) is an American actress and model who has appeared in several films and television shows.
Vanity Karla (1987-) is a Mexican actress and singer who has starred in various telenovelas and films. While not an exhaustive list, these individuals exemplify the use of Vanity as a first name throughout different eras and cultures.
People
Vanity + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Vanity 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
Vanity: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Vanity?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,790 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Vanity 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 191,483 US residents.
Is Vanity a common name?
We classify Vanity as "Rare". It ranks above 93.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,845 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Vanity most popular?
The single biggest year for Vanity was 1988, when 116 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Vanity is about 27 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Vanity a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Vanity 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.
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.