Verena
A feminine name of Latin origin meaning "true image" or "true likeness".
Name Census estimates that about 1,040 living Americans carry the first name Verena. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Verena today is around 34 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Verena births was 1916 (43 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Verena. 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
1.0K
~ 1 in 329,571 Americans
Peak year
1916
43 babies that year
Average age
34
years old
2024 SSA rank
#4,180
Tracked since 1890
Popularity
Verena: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Verena from the 1890s through to the 2020s, spanning 14 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 264 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1920s peak, Verena remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Verena 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 Verena during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Verenas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 8 states and territories. California, Minnesota, Indiana recorded the most babies named Verena, while Wisconsin, Ohio, Michigan recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 21 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Verena
The name Verena originates from the Latin name Verena, which is derived from the word "vera" meaning "true" or "sincere." This name was popular among ancient Romans and has its roots in Latin culture.
The name Verena gained prominence in the early Christian era, particularly in regions where Latin was widely spoken. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name is Saint Verena, a 4th-century Swiss martyr and patron saint of the town of Zurzach in Switzerland.
In the Middle Ages, the name Verena was widely used across Europe, especially in Germanic and Slavic regions. It was a popular name among nobility and commoners alike. During this period, variations of the name such as Veronika, Veronica, and Vreneli emerged.
One notable historical figure with the name Verena was Verena of Zurzach, a 7th-century Swiss abbess and founder of the monastery of Zurzach. Another prominent individual was Verena Stangl (1957-2022), an Austrian painter and sculptor known for her abstract works.
In the realm of literature, the name Verena appears in the works of various authors. For instance, in Hermann Hesse's novel "Demian," one of the characters is named Verena Reichlin. Additionally, Verena Becker is a character in the novel "The Emigrants" by W.G. Sebald.
Other notable individuals with the name Verena include Verena von Liechtenstein (1904-1983), a Liechtenstein princess and mother of Hans-Adam II, Prince of Liechtenstein, and Verena Conzett (1919-2009), a Swiss politician and women's rights activist.
The name Verena has also been used in the entertainment industry. Verena Mundhenke (born 1986) is a German actress, while Verena Plangger (born 1987) is an Austrian pop singer.
Overall, the name Verena has a rich history spanning centuries and cultures, with its origins rooted in Latin and its popularity spreading across Europe and beyond. It has been borne by notable figures in various fields, including religion, literature, politics, and the arts.
People
Verena + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Verena 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
Verena: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Verena?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,040 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Verena 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 329,571 US residents.
Is Verena a common name?
We classify Verena as "Rare". It ranks above 90.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,949 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Verena most popular?
The single biggest year for Verena was 1916, when 43 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Verena is about 34 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Verena a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Verena 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.