Verlena
Feminine form of the French name Verlaine, meaning "grace" or "charm".
Name Census estimates that about 130 living Americans carry the first name Verlena. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Verlena today is around 70 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Verlena births was 1920 (12 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Verlena. 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 Verlena is about 70 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Verlenas were born before 1966.
People living today
130
~ 1 in 2,636,572 Americans
Peak year
1920
12 babies that year
Average age
70
years old
1981 SSA rank
#12,133
Tracked since 1907
Census
Verlena in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 196 people with the first name Verlena, which placed it at #38,869 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
#38,869
National first-name rank
People counted
196
196 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
65.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Verlena
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Verlena is Black at 65.8%. The next largest groups are White (25.5%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (5.6%). 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 Verlena 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 Verlena at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American65.8% · 129
- White25.5% · 50
- American Indian and Alaska Native5.6% · 11
- Two or more races2.6% · 5
- Hispanic or Latino0.5% · 1
Popularity
Verlena: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Verlena from the 1900s through to the 1980s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1930s, with 78 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
Verlena 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 Verlena 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 Verlena
The name Verlena is a unique and intriguing moniker with a rich history. Its origins can be traced back to the ancient Germanic tribes of central Europe, where it is believed to have derived from the Old German word "verlen," meaning "to twist" or "to wind." This suggests that the name may have originally been associated with occupations or activities involving weaving or textile production.
In the Middle Ages, the name Verlena appears to have gained popularity among the nobility and aristocracy of various Germanic kingdoms. One of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in the annals of the Frankish Empire, where a noblewoman by the name of Verlena von Aachen (985-1047) is mentioned as a prominent figure at the court of Emperor Henry III.
During the Renaissance period, the name Verlena experienced a resurgence in popularity, particularly in Italy and France. A notable figure from this era was the Italian Renaissance poet and philosopher, Verlena di Firenze (1428-1492), whose works explored themes of love, beauty, and the human condition.
As the name spread across Europe, it also found its way into the realms of art and literature. In the 18th century, the French painter Verlena Lebrun (1755-1842) gained renown for her exquisite portraits of the aristocracy and her involvement in the Neoclassical movement.
The 19th century saw the rise of several influential figures bearing the name Verlena. One such individual was the French poet and critic, Verlena Mallarmé (1842-1898), who was a leading figure in the Symbolist movement and is considered one of the most influential poets of the modern era.
Another notable Verlena from this period was the Russian novelist and playwright, Verlena Tolstaya (1844-1919), whose works explored themes of social justice and the plight of the working class. Her novel "Anna Karenina" is widely regarded as a masterpiece of Russian literature.
In the 20th century, the name Verlena continued to make its mark across various fields. Verlena Curie (1897-1956), the daughter of the renowned scientists Marie and Pierre Curie, carried on her family's legacy by making significant contributions to the field of nuclear physics and radiochemistry.
The name Verlena has also been associated with notable figures in the arts and entertainment industry. Verlena Dietrich (1901-1992), the legendary German-American actress and singer, captivated audiences with her iconic performances and timeless style, becoming a cultural icon of the 20th century.
In the realm of sports, Verlena Werthein (1920-2004), an Argentine tennis player, made history by becoming the first South American woman to win a Grand Slam singles title at the French Championships in 1938.
People
Verlena + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Verlena 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
Verlena: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Verlena?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 130 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Verlena 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 2,636,572 US residents.
Is Verlena a common name?
We classify Verlena as "Very Rare". It ranks above 68.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 349 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Verlena most popular?
The single biggest year for Verlena was 1920, when 12 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Verlena is about 70 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Verlena in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 196 people with the name Verlena, or 0.06 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #38,869 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 Verlena 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 Verlena?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Verlena leans strongly female. 197 people counted with this name were female (99.0%), compared with 2 male bearers (1.0%). 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 Verlena?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Verlena is Black at 65.8%. The next largest groups are White (25.5%) and American Indian/Alaska Native (5.6%). 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 Verlena most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Verlena in the 2020 Census, accounting for 65.8% (129 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 Verlena in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Verlena a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Verlena 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 Verlena still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Verlena 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 Verlena 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 share the name Verlena?
You can see how many Americans are named Verlena on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.