Varney
Of English origin, meaning "guard of the alder tree grove".
Name Census estimates that about 7 living Americans carry the first name Varney. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Varney today is around 78 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Varney births was 1921 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Varney. 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 Varney is about 78 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Varneys were born before 1958.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Varney. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
7
~ 1 in 48,964,905 Americans
Peak year
1921
7 babies that year
Average age
78
years old
1950 SSA rank
#3,658
Tracked since 1919
Census
Varney in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 244 people with the first name Varney, which placed it at #33,765 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
#33,765
National first-name rank
People counted
244
244 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
71.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Varney
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Varney is Black at 71.3%. The next largest groups are White (19.7%) and Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Varney 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 Varney at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American71.3% · 174
- White19.7% · 48
- Two or more races2.9% · 7
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.5% · 6
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.2% · 3
Popularity
Varney: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Varney from the 1910s through to the 1950s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 13 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1920s peak, Varney remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Varney 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 Varney during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Varney
The name Varney has its origins in the Old French language, dating back to the Middle Ages. It is believed to have derived from the Old French word "vairnier," which referred to a furrier or a person who worked with the fur of small animals such as squirrels and rabbits.
During the medieval period, the name Varney was primarily found in the northern regions of France, particularly in areas like Normandy and Picardy, where the fur trade was a significant economic activity. The earliest recorded use of the name can be traced back to the 12th century, when it appeared in various medieval documents and records.
One of the earliest known references to the name Varney can be found in the "Roman de la Rose," a famous medieval French literary work written in the 13th century. In this text, a character named Varney is mentioned, though little is known about their specific role or significance.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Varney. One of the most prominent was John Varney (1457-1521), an English merchant and politician who served as the Lord Mayor of London in 1508. Another notable figure was William Varney (1617-1688), an English Puritan minister and author who wrote several religious works during the 17th century.
In the literary realm, the name Varney is associated with James Malcolm Rymer, an English writer of the 19th century who authored the gothic novel "Varney the Vampire" in 1847. This work is considered one of the earliest examples of vampire fiction and helped popularize the genre.
Another historical figure with the name Varney was John Varney (1850-1932), an American baseball player and manager who played for several teams in the late 19th century, including the Detroit Wolverines and the St. Louis Browns.
Lastly, Varney Yorke (1904-1967) was a British actor and writer who appeared in numerous films and television shows throughout his career, including roles in "The Colditz Story" and "The Prisoner."
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who have borne the name Varney, showcasing its enduring legacy and diverse cultural roots.
People
Varney + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Varney 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
Varney: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Varney?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 7 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Varney 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 48,964,905 US residents.
Is Varney a common name?
We classify Varney as "Very Rare". It ranks above 23.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 29 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Varney most popular?
The single biggest year for Varney was 1921, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Varney is about 78 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Varney in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 244 people with the name Varney, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #33,765 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 Varney 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 Varney?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Varney leans strongly male. 233 people counted with this name were male (95.9%), compared with 10 female bearers (4.1%). 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 Varney?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Varney is Black at 71.3%. The next largest groups are White (19.7%) and Two or More Races (2.9%). 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 Varney most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Varney in the 2020 Census, accounting for 71.3% (174 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 Varney in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Varney a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Varney in the SSA data are male. 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 Varney still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Varney 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 Varney 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 Varney?
Find out how many people share the name Varney on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — a quick modern estimate with the living-bearer count front and centre.