Verl
An English masculine name of unknown origin, possibly a variant of Earl.
Name Census estimates that about 673 living Americans carry the first name Verl. It is a predominantly male name (92.3% of registrations). The average person named Verl today is around 76 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Verl births was 1918 (96 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Verl. 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 Verl is about 76 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Verls were born before 1960.
People living today
673
~ 1 in 509,293 Americans
Peak year
1918
96 babies that year
Average age
76
years old
1987 SSA rank
#5,993
Tracked since 1895
Gender
Gender distribution for Verl
Verl leans heavily male at 92.3% of total registrations, but 211 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Verl as a male name
- Ranked #8,091 in 1987
- 5 male births in 1987
- Peak: 1918 (86 births)
Verl as a female name
- Ranked #5,993 in 1948
- 5 female births in 1948
- Peak: 1919 (14 births)
Popularity
Verl: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Verl from the 1890s through to the 1980s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 780 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
Verl 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 Verl during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Verls live
The SSA's state-level files cover 16 states and territories. Utah, Idaho, Kansas recorded the most babies named Verl, while West Virginia, Wisconsin, Washington recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 49 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Verl
The name Verl is believed to have its roots in the German language. It is a diminutive form of the name Verle, which itself is a variant of the name Veronica. The name Veronica is derived from the Greek name Berenike, which means "bearer of victory."
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Verl was in the 16th century in parts of Germany and Switzerland. It was particularly popular in the southern regions of these countries. The name may have also been used in some parts of Austria during this time period.
There are no known historical references to the name Verl in ancient texts or religious scriptures. However, the name Veronica, from which Verl is derived, does have biblical connections. In the New Testament, Veronica is said to have wiped the face of Jesus Christ with a cloth as he carried the cross.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Verl was Verl Dummermuth, a Swiss painter who lived from 1541 to 1613. He was known for his religious paintings and frescoes in churches throughout Switzerland.
Another notable bearer of the name Verl was Verl Kruger, a German architect who lived from 1857 to 1923. He was responsible for designing several notable buildings in Berlin, including the Reichstag building.
In the United States, one of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Verl was Verl Alden Barnes, who was born in 1882 and served as the governor of Oklahoma from 1923 to 1927.
Verl Rife, an American inventor and scientist, lived from 1888 to 1971. He is best known for his work on the Rife machine, which was designed to treat various diseases through the use of frequency therapy.
Verl Alma Mortensen, born in 1912, was a Canadian-American academic and author. He served as the president of the University of Utah from 1966 to 1971 and wrote several books on education and philosophy.
People
Verl + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Verl 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
Verl: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Verl?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 673 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Verl 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 509,293 US residents.
Is Verl a common name?
We classify Verl as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,728 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Verl most popular?
The single biggest year for Verl was 1918, when 96 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Verl is about 76 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Verl a male name?
Yes, 92.3% of people registered as Verl 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.
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.