Verne
A masculine name of French origin meaning "alder tree".
Name Census estimates that about 1,728 living Americans carry the first name Verne. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 86.9% of registrations being male. The average person named Verne today is around 74 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Verne births was 1919 (200 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Verne. 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 Verne is about 74 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Vernes were born before 1962.
People living today
1.7K
~ 1 in 198,353 Americans
Peak year
1919
200 babies that year
Average age
74
years old
1990 SSA rank
#7,544
Tracked since 1880
Gender
Gender distribution for Verne
Verne leans heavily male at 86.9% of total registrations, but 878 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Verne as a male name
- Ranked #9,426 in 1990
- 5 male births in 1990
- Peak: 1919 (167 births)
Verne as a female name
- Ranked #7,544 in 1962
- 5 female births in 1962
- Peak: 1918 (42 births)
Popularity
Verne: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Verne from the 1880s through to the 1990s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 1,572 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
Verne 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 Verne during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Vernes live
The SSA's state-level files cover 23 states and territories. Illinois, California, Iowa recorded the most babies named Verne, while New Hampshire, North Carolina, Maine recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 121 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Verne
The name Verne is a French masculine given name derived from the Old French word "vern," meaning "alder tree." The alder tree was a significant plant in ancient Celtic culture, and the name likely originated from this background. The earliest recorded use of the name Verne dates back to the Middle Ages, around the 12th century, primarily in areas of France and neighboring regions.
One of the earliest known references to the name Verne can be found in the epic poem "La Chanson de Roland" (The Song of Roland), a masterpiece of Old French literature from the 11th century. The poem mentions a character named Verne, though historical details about this individual remain scarce.
During the Renaissance period, the name Verne gained popularity among French nobility and aristocracy. One notable figure was Verne de Marseille (1510-1568), a French poet and playwright renowned for his works in the Occitan language.
In the 19th century, the name Verne became globally famous thanks to the influential French novelist Jules Verne (1828-1905), widely regarded as the father of science fiction. His groundbreaking novels, such as "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" and "Around the World in Eighty Days," captivated readers worldwide and popularized the name Verne across various cultures.
Another prominent individual with the name Verne was Verne E. Boston (1906-1991), an American civil rights activist and lawyer who played a crucial role in the desegregation of public schools in the United States. His legal efforts and advocacy were instrumental in the historic Supreme Court case Brown v. Board of Education in 1954.
More recently, Verne Troyer (1969-2018) was an American actor and comedian best known for his role as Mini-Me in the Austin Powers film series. Despite his short stature, Troyer had a successful career in Hollywood and became a recognizable figure in popular culture.
While the name Verne has its roots in French culture and language, it has transcended geographical boundaries and continues to be used globally, often as a homage to the influential writer Jules Verne or as a nod to the natural world and the alder tree's symbolism.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Verne
People
Verne + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Verne 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
Verne: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Verne?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,728 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Verne 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 198,353 US residents.
Is Verne a common name?
We classify Verne as "Rare". It ranks above 93.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6,719 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Verne most popular?
The single biggest year for Verne was 1919, when 200 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Verne is about 74 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Verne a male name?
Yes, 86.9% of people registered as Verne 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.