Verdon
A French name representing a verdant valley or green meadow.
Name Census estimates that about 33 living Americans carry the first name Verdon. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Verdon today is around 82 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Verdon births was 1916 (15 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Verdon. 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 Verdon is about 82 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Verdons were born before 1954.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Verdon. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
33
~ 1 in 10,386,495 Americans
Peak year
1916
15 babies that year
Average age
82
years old
1960 SSA rank
#4,568
Tracked since 1914
Census
Verdon in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 115 people with the first name Verdon, which placed it at #51,185 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
#51,185
National first-name rank
People counted
115
115 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.0
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
67.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Verdon
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Verdon is White at 67.8%. The next largest groups are Black (23.5%) and Two or More Races (3.5%). 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 Verdon 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 Verdon at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White67.8% · 78
- Black or African American23.5% · 27
- Two or more races3.5% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.6% · 3
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.6% · 3
Popularity
Verdon: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Verdon from the 1910s through to the 1960s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 75 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
Verdon 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 Verdon 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 Verdon
The name Verdon is believed to have originated from the French language, specifically in the region of Verdon, a river and a commune in the Alpes-de-Haute-Provence department in southeastern France. The name is derived from the Gallo-Roman word "Verduna," which means "green valley" or "green waters."
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Verdon dates back to the 11th century, when it was mentioned in a document referring to a noble family from the Verdon region. During the Middle Ages, the name was relatively common among the French aristocracy and was often associated with landowners and noblemen who held territories near the Verdon River.
In the realm of historical figures, one notable individual bearing the name Verdon was Jean de Verdon, a French knight who fought alongside Joan of Arc during the Hundred Years' War in the 15th century. He was born around 1400 and played a significant role in the siege of Orléans in 1429, contributing to the French victory against the English forces.
Another prominent figure with the name Verdon was Richard de Verdon, an English nobleman and military commander who lived during the 13th century. He served as the Justiciar of Ireland from 1286 to 1295 and played a crucial role in the Anglo-Norman conquest of Ireland.
In the realm of literature, the name Verdon appears in the works of French author Honoré de Balzac, notably in his novel "La Rabouilleuse" (1842), where one of the characters is named Philippe Bridau, Comte de Brambourg et de Verdon.
Moving into more recent history, one notable individual with the name Verdon was Gail Verdon, an American dancer and actress born in 1925. She is best known for her collaborations with choreographer Bob Fosse and her performances in various Broadway musicals, including "Damn Yankees" and "Sweet Charity."
Another figure worth mentioning is Paul Verdon, a French actor and screenwriter born in 1911. He had a prolific career in the French film industry, appearing in over 100 films and writing numerous screenplays, including for the acclaimed film "The Wages of Fear" (1953).
While the name Verdon may not be as widely used today as it once was, it remains a part of the cultural heritage of France and carries with it a rich history and associations with the region from which it originated.
People
Verdon + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Verdon 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
Verdon: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Verdon?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 33 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Verdon 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 10,386,495 US residents.
Is Verdon a common name?
We classify Verdon as "Very Rare". It ranks above 48% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 226 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Verdon most popular?
The single biggest year for Verdon was 1916, when 15 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Verdon is about 82 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Verdon in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 115 people with the name Verdon, or 0.04 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #51,185 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 Verdon 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 Verdon?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Verdon leans strongly male. 106 people counted with this name were male (89.1%), compared with 13 female bearers (10.9%). 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 Verdon?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Verdon is White at 67.8%. The next largest groups are Black (23.5%) and Two or More Races (3.5%). 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 Verdon most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Verdon in the 2020 Census, accounting for 67.8% (78 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 Verdon in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Verdon a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Verdon 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 Verdon still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Verdon 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 Verdon 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 Verdon?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.