Vernessa
A feminine name of English origin meaning "flourishing spring".
Name Census estimates that about 706 living Americans carry the first name Vernessa. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Vernessa today is around 61 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Vernessa births was 1960 (68 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Vernessa. 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
706
~ 1 in 485,488 Americans
Peak year
1960
68 babies that year
Average age
61
years old
1994 SSA rank
#15,678
Tracked since 1920
Popularity
Vernessa: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Vernessa from the 1920s through to the 1990s, spanning 7 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 347 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Vernessa 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 Vernessa during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Vernessas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 12 states and territories. South Carolina, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Vernessa, while Ohio, Louisiana, District of Columbia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 15 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Vernessa
The given name Vernessa is a feminine variant of the masculine name Vernon, which derives from the Old French place name "Vernun". This place name is believed to have originated from the Gaulish word "vern", meaning "alder tree", referring to the alder trees that grew in the region.
The name Vernessa first appeared in written records during the late Middle Ages, around the 13th or 14th century. It was initially used in parts of France and later spread to other regions of Europe, particularly England and Scotland.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Vernessa can be found in the Chronicles of Froissart, a 14th-century historical work written by the French chronicler Jean Froissart. In this work, Froissart mentions a noblewoman named Vernessa de Montfort, who lived in the late 13th century.
During the Renaissance period, the name Vernessa gained some popularity among the aristocratic classes in Italy. A notable figure from this time was Vernessa Borgia, a member of the powerful Borgia family, who lived in the late 15th century.
In the 17th century, the name Vernessa appeared in various literary works, such as the play "The Rivals" by Richard Brinsley Sheridan, where one of the characters is named Vernessa. Around the same period, Vernessa Thornton, an English painter and portraitist, gained recognition for her artistic talents.
Another prominent figure with the name Vernessa was Vernessa Wilcox, a British author and poet who lived in the late 19th century. She is known for her collection of poems titled "Echoes from the Hills" published in 1892.
In the 20th century, Vernessa Greenfield, an American civil rights activist and educator, made significant contributions to the fight for racial equality. She was born in 1928 and played an active role in the civil rights movement, working alongside prominent leaders like Martin Luther King Jr.
While the name Vernessa has always been relatively uncommon, it has maintained a presence throughout history, carried by individuals from various backgrounds and professions, each leaving their mark in their respective fields.
People
Vernessa + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Vernessa 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
Vernessa: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Vernessa?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 706 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Vernessa 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 485,488 US residents.
Is Vernessa a common name?
We classify Vernessa as "Very Rare". It ranks above 87.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 881 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Vernessa most popular?
The single biggest year for Vernessa was 1960, when 68 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Vernessa is about 61 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Vernessa a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Vernessa 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.