Verlan
A French argot term formed by reversing syllables or words.
Name Census estimates that about 110 living Americans carry the first name Verlan. It is a predominantly male name (98.5% of registrations). The average person named Verlan today is around 77 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Verlan births was 1927 (16 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Verlan. 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 Verlan is about 77 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Verlans were born before 1959.
People living today
110
~ 1 in 3,115,949 Americans
Peak year
1927
16 babies that year
Average age
77
years old
1968 SSA rank
#4,721
Tracked since 1916
Census
Verlan in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 199 people with the first name Verlan, which placed it at #38,518 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
#38,518
National first-name rank
People counted
199
199 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
86.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Verlan
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Verlan is White at 86.9%. The next largest groups are Black (8.0%) and Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Verlan 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 Verlan at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White86.9% · 173
- Black or African American8.0% · 16
- Hispanic or Latino2.5% · 5
- Two or more races1.5% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.0% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Verlan
Verlan leans heavily male at 98.5% of total registrations, but 5 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Verlan as a male name
- Ranked #4,721 in 1968
- 5 male births in 1968
- Peak: 1927 (16 births)
Verlan as a female name
- Ranked #5,510 in 1919
- 5 female births in 1919
- Peak: 1919 (5 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Verlan leans strongly male. 173 people counted with this name were male (86.5%), compared with 27 female bearers (13.5%).
Popularity
Verlan: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Verlan from the 1910s through to the 1960s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1930s, with 96 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1930s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Verlan 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 Verlan during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Verlans live
Origin
Meaning and history of Verlan
Verlan is a name with an intriguing history rooted in the French culture. Its origins can be traced back to the 16th century, when the term "verlan" emerged as a type of informal French slang. It involved the practice of inverting syllables or sounds within words, creating a playful and coded language among certain social groups.
The name Verlan itself is believed to be a backslang (verlan) version of the phrase "l'envers" or "l'inverse," which translates to "the reverse" or "the opposite." This linguistic quirk was particularly popular among the youth and marginalized communities in France, allowing them to develop a distinct linguistic identity and a sense of belonging.
While the name Verlan may not have appeared in ancient texts or religious scriptures, its connection to the French language and culture is undeniable. One of the earliest recorded examples of the name can be found in the works of French novelist and playwright Marcel Pagnol, who used it as a character name in his 1930s Marseille trilogy.
Throughout history, several notable individuals have borne the name Verlan, contributing to its enduring legacy. One such figure was Verlan Casséres (1895-1968), a French artist and sculptor known for his avant-garde works and collaborations with renowned artists like Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse.
Another prominent Verlan was Verlan Bouaziz (1932-2021), a Tunisian-born French actor and comedian who rose to fame in the 1960s and 1970s with his satirical portrayals of French society and culture. His witty performances and social commentary resonated with audiences across generations.
In the field of literature, Verlan Pouchkine (1899-1937) was a Russian-born French novelist and poet whose works explored themes of identity, exile, and the human condition. His novel "Le Miroir des Jours" (The Mirror of Days) garnered critical acclaim and solidified his place in the French literary canon.
Moving to the world of sports, Verlan Dujardin (1917-1998) was a French cyclist who competed in the Tour de France and won multiple prestigious races, including the Paris–Roubaix and the Giro d'Italia. His achievements earned him a place in the annals of cycling history.
Lastly, Verlan Descamps (1921-2009) was a French painter and sculptor whose works explored the interplay between abstract and figurative forms. His vibrant canvases and dynamic sculptures captured the essence of the post-war art scene in France, earning him recognition both nationally and internationally.
These individuals, spanning various fields and eras, have contributed to the rich tapestry of history associated with the name Verlan, solidifying its place in the cultural fabric of France and beyond.
People
Verlan + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Verlan 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
Verlan: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Verlan?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 110 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Verlan 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 3,115,949 US residents.
Is Verlan a common name?
We classify Verlan as "Very Rare". It ranks above 65.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 324 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Verlan most popular?
The single biggest year for Verlan was 1927, when 16 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Verlan is about 77 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Verlan in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 199 people with the name Verlan, or 0.07 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #38,518 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 Verlan 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 Verlan?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Verlan leans strongly male. 173 people counted with this name were male (86.5%), compared with 27 female bearers (13.5%). 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 Verlan?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Verlan is White at 86.9%. The next largest groups are Black (8.0%) and Hispanic (2.5%). 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 Verlan most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Verlan in the 2020 Census, accounting for 86.9% (173 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 Verlan in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Verlan a male name?
Yes, 98.5% of people registered as Verlan 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 Verlan still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Verlan 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 Verlan 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 have Verlan as a first name?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.