Veronica
A feminine name of Latin origin meaning "true image".
Name Census estimates that about 175,367 living Americans carry the first name Veronica. It sits at #392 in the overall ranking, outside the top 50 but still well-represented. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Veronica today is around 44 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Veronica births was 1980 (4,410 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Veronica. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Veronica with official rankings and popularity over time.
Key insights
- • Although Veronica is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 834 boys registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
175K
~ 1 in 1,954 Americans
Peak year
1980
4,410 babies that year
Average age
44
years old
2007 SSA rank
#392
Tracked since 1880
Census
Veronica in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 234,662 people with the first name Veronica, which placed it at #243 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
#243
National first-name rank
People counted
235K
234,662 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
77.7
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
55.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Veronica
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Veronica is Hispanic at 55.5%. The next largest groups are White (26.3%) and Black (13.5%). 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 Veronica 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 Veronica at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino55.5% · 130,180
- White26.3% · 61,772
- Black or African American13.5% · 31,581
- Asian and Pacific Islander2.2% · 5,089
- Two or more races1.9% · 4,540
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.6% · 1,500
Gender
Gender distribution for Veronica
Out of the 223,873 babies given the name Veronica since 1880, 99.6% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Veronica as a male name
- Ranked #10,847 in 2007
- 7 male births in 2007
- Peak: 1989 (48 births)
Veronica as a female name
- Ranked #392 in 2024
- 804 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1980 (4,381 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Veronica appears almost entirely female. Of the 234,659 people counted with this name, 99.9% were female and only a very small share were male.
Popularity
Veronica: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Veronica from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 39,547 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Veronica 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 Veronica during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Veronicas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 51 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Veronica, while Vermont, Wyoming, Alaska recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 4,244 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Veronica
The name Veronica is derived from the Greek phrase "Vera Eikon", which translates to "true image" or "true likeness". This phrase is believed to refer to the legend of Saint Veronica, who wiped Jesus Christ's face with a cloth during his journey to crucifixion, leaving an imprint of his face on the cloth.
The name Veronica has its origins in the early centuries of Christianity, as the legend of Saint Veronica became widely known and celebrated. The earliest recorded use of the name dates back to the 6th century, when it was mentioned in various religious texts and hagiographies.
One of the most famous historical references to the name Veronica comes from the 13th-century Golden Legend, a collection of hagiographies compiled by Jacobus de Voragine. In this work, the author recounts the story of Saint Veronica and her encounter with Jesus, cementing her place in Christian tradition.
Over the centuries, the name Veronica has been borne by several notable figures. One of the earliest was Veronica Gambara (1485-1550), an Italian poet and writer who was celebrated for her literary works during the Renaissance period. Another famous Veronica was Veronica Franco (1546-1591), a Venetian courtesan and poet whose works provided insight into the lives of courtesans in 16th-century Venice.
In the 17th century, Veronica Giuliani (1660-1727) was an Italian mystic and Capuchin nun who became renowned for her visions and spiritual experiences. She was later canonized as a saint by the Catholic Church.
The 18th century saw the rise of Veronica Guerin (1958-1996), an Irish crime reporter who fearlessly exposed the activities of drug lords in Dublin. Her life and tragic murder at the hands of criminal organizations brought international attention to the issue of organized crime in Ireland.
Another notable Veronica was Veronica Lake (1922-1973), an American film actress who rose to fame during the 1940s for her roles in films noir and her iconic hairstyle, known as the "peekaboo" look.
These are just a few examples of the many notable individuals throughout history who have borne the name Veronica, a name that carries a rich cultural and religious significance rooted in the legend of the true image of Jesus Christ.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Veronica
People
Veronica + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Veronica 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
Veronica: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Veronica?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 175,367 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Veronica 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 1,954 US residents.
Is Veronica a common name?
We classify Veronica as "Common". It ranks above 99.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 223,873 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Veronica most popular?
The single biggest year for Veronica was 1980, when 4,410 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Veronica is about 44 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Veronica in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 234,662 people with the name Veronica, or 77.70 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #243 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 Veronica 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 Veronica?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Veronica appears almost entirely female. Of the 234,659 people counted with this name, 99.9% were female and only a very small share were male. 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 Veronica?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Veronica is Hispanic at 55.5%. The next largest groups are White (26.3%) and Black (13.5%). 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 Veronica most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Veronica in the 2020 Census, accounting for 55.5% (130,180 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 Veronica in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Veronica a female name?
Yes, 99.6% of people registered as Veronica 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 Veronica still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Veronica 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 Veronica 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 the name Veronica?
Our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers how many people share the name Veronica at a glance, with the living-bearer count up front.