Venya
A feminine Russian diminutive form of the name Veniamin, derived from the Hebrew meaning "son of the right hand".
Name Census estimates that about 47 living Americans carry the first name Venya. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Venya today is around 13 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Venya births was 2017 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Venya. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Venya with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Venya. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
47
~ 1 in 7,292,645 Americans
Peak year
2017
7 babies that year
Average age
13
years old
2023 SSA rank
#15,043
Tracked since 2008
Popularity
Venya: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Venya from the 2000s through to the 2020s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 29 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 2010s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Venya 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 Venya 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 Venya
The name Venya has its origins in the Russian language and culture. It is a diminutive form of the name Veniamin, which is derived from the Hebrew name Benjamin, meaning "son of the right hand" or "son of the south." The name Veniamin was brought to Russia through the adoption of Christianity and the translation of religious texts.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Venya can be found in the Russian literary classic "Eugene Onegin" by Alexander Pushkin, written in the early 19th century. In the novel, Venya is mentioned as a character's childhood nickname.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Venya or its variations. One of the most famous was Venedikt Erofeev (1938-1990), a Russian writer and playwright best known for his novel "Moscow to the End of the Line." His work was highly influential in the underground literature scene of the Soviet era.
Another prominent figure was Veniamin Kaverin (1902-1989), a Russian writer and literary critic who was a member of the prestigious Union of Soviet Writers. His novel "The Two Captains" was a popular work of fiction during the Soviet period.
In the field of sports, Veniamin Mikhailovich Baidachny (1923-1994) was a Soviet ice hockey player and coach. He played for the Soviet national team and later coached several successful teams, including the Soviet national team.
Venya Merkuriev (1952-2000) was a Russian actor and director who gained recognition for his stage performances and his work in television and film. He was particularly known for his roles in adaptations of classic Russian literature.
Veniamin Vasilyevich Bakhtin (1938-2009) was a Russian philologist and literary scholar who made significant contributions to the study of the works of Mikhail Bakhtin, a prominent literary theorist and philosopher.
While these are just a few examples, the name Venya has been carried by individuals from various walks of life throughout history, reflecting its deep roots in Russian culture and language.
People
Venya + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Venya 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
Venya: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Venya?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 47 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Venya 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 7,292,645 US residents.
Is Venya a common name?
We classify Venya as "Very Rare". It ranks above 53.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 47 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Venya most popular?
The single biggest year for Venya was 2017, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Venya is about 13 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Venya in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Venya a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Venya 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 Venya still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Venya 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 Venya 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people share the name Venya?
Want to know how many Americans are named Venya? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.