Verba
Latin feminine name meaning "word" or "speech".
Name Census estimates that about 73 living Americans carry the first name Verba. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Verba today is around 83 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Verba births was 1927 (28 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Verba. 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 Verba is about 83 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Verbas were born before 1953.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Verba. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
73
~ 1 in 4,695,265 Americans
Peak year
1927
28 babies that year
Average age
83
years old
1960 SSA rank
#7,270
Tracked since 1897
Census
Verba in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 251 people with the first name Verba, which placed it at #33,109 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
#33,109
National first-name rank
People counted
251
251 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
86.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Verba
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Verba is White at 86.5%. The next largest groups are Black (10.4%) and Hispanic (2.0%). 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 Verba 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 Verba at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.5% · 217
- Black or African American10.4% · 26
- Hispanic or Latino2.0% · 5
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.8% · 2
- Two or more races0.4% · 1
Popularity
Verba: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Verba from the 1890s through to the 1960s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 201 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
Verba 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 Verba during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Verbas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. Missouri, Texas, Ohio recorded the most babies named Verba, while Oklahoma, Ohio, Texas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 12 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Verba
The name Verba is believed to have originated from the Latin language, with its roots tracing back to ancient Roman civilizations. It is derived from the Latin word "verbum," which means "word" or "speech." This linguistic connection suggests that the name Verba may have been associated with individuals who possessed exceptional oratory skills, wisdom, or a profound understanding of language.
In ancient Roman literature, there are instances where the name Verba appears, though its usage was relatively uncommon. One notable mention can be found in the philosophical works of Cicero, a renowned Roman statesman, orator, and philosopher who lived from 106 BC to 43 BC. Cicero occasionally employed the term "verba" to emphasize the importance of carefully chosen words in effective communication.
The earliest recorded individuals bearing the name Verba can be traced back to the 2nd century AD. One such individual was Verba Quintus, a Roman scholar and tutor who gained recognition for his contributions to the education of young nobles in the imperial court during the reign of Marcus Aurelius.
Throughout history, the name Verba has been carried by several notable figures, although their impact and fame vary across different eras and regions. One such individual was Verba Petrus, a 5th-century monk and scribe who dedicated his life to preserving ancient manuscripts and philosophical texts in the aftermath of the fall of the Western Roman Empire.
In the 9th century, Verba Theodorus was a prominent Byzantine scholar and theologian who played a significant role in the intellectual and religious discourse of the time. His writings and teachings were widely respected and influenced generations of scholars and theologians in the Byzantine Empire.
During the Renaissance period, Verba Antonius was an Italian humanist and philosopher who advocated for the revival of classical learning and the study of ancient Greek and Roman texts. His works and teachings contributed to the flourishing of the Renaissance movement in Italy and beyond.
Another notable figure bearing the name Verba was Verba Mikhail, a 19th-century Russian poet and writer whose works were celebrated for their lyrical beauty and insightful commentary on societal issues of the time.
These are just a few examples of individuals throughout history who have carried the name Verba, each leaving their mark in various fields of endeavor, from scholarship and philosophy to literature and the arts.
People
Verba + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Verba 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
Verba: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Verba?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 73 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Verba 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 4,695,265 US residents.
Is Verba a common name?
We classify Verba as "Very Rare". It ranks above 60% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 603 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Verba most popular?
The single biggest year for Verba was 1927, when 28 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Verba is about 83 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Verba in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 251 people with the name Verba, or 0.08 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #33,109 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 Verba 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 Verba?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Verba appears almost entirely female. Of the 249 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 Verba?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Verba is White at 86.5%. The next largest groups are Black (10.4%) and Hispanic (2.0%). 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 Verba most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Verba in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.5% (217 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 Verba in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Verba a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Verba 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 Verba still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Verba 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 Verba 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 common is the name Verba?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.