Virgel
English given name derived from Virgil, the Latin name of a famous Roman poet.
Name Census estimates that about 290 living Americans carry the first name Virgel. It is a predominantly male name (99.5% of registrations). The average person named Virgel today is around 75 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Virgel births was 1920 (53 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Virgel. 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 Virgel is about 75 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Virgels were born before 1961.
People living today
290
~ 1 in 1,181,912 Americans
Peak year
1920
53 babies that year
Average age
75
years old
1989 SSA rank
#4,945
Tracked since 1896
Census
Virgel in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 259 people with the first name Virgel, which placed it at #32,463 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
#32,463
National first-name rank
People counted
259
259 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
67.6% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Virgel
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Virgel is White at 67.6%. The next largest groups are Black (17.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.8%). 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 Virgel 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 Virgel at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White67.6% · 175
- Black or African American17.4% · 45
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.8% · 15
- Two or more races4.6% · 12
- Hispanic or Latino3.9% · 10
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 2
Gender
Gender distribution for Virgel
Out of the 1,193 babies given the name Virgel since 1880, 99.5% were registered as male. The name sits firmly on the male side of the spectrum, with only a handful of female registrations across the entire dataset.
Virgel as a male name
- Ranked #9,173 in 1989
- 5 male births in 1989
- Peak: 1920 (47 births)
Virgel as a female name
- Ranked #4,945 in 1920
- 6 female births in 1920
- Peak: 1920 (6 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Virgel leans strongly male. 239 people counted with this name were male (93.0%), compared with 18 female bearers (7.0%).
Popularity
Virgel: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Virgel from the 1890s through to the 1980s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 373 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
Virgel 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 Virgel during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Virgels live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. Texas, Oklahoma, Kentucky recorded the most babies named Virgel, while Iowa, Illinois, Arkansas recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 16 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Virgel
The name Virgel has its origins in the Late Latin language and dates back to the early medieval period, specifically around the 5th to 7th centuries. It is derived from the Latin word "virga," meaning "branch" or "rod." This suggests a connection to nature and perhaps a reference to someone who lived in a forested or rural area.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Virgel can be found in the Codex Diplomaticus Cavensis, a collection of medieval documents from the Cava de' Tirreni monastery in southern Italy. In this text, dated around the year 850 AD, a man named Virgel is mentioned as a witness to a land transaction.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Virgel. One of the most famous was Virgel of Salzburg (c. 700 – 784), a Bavarian scholar and churchman who served as the Archbishop of Salzburg from 767 until his death. He is renowned for his efforts in promoting education and establishing schools in the region.
Another significant figure was Virgel the Scribe (c. 1050 – 1120), a monk and calligrapher from the Abbey of St. Gall in present-day Switzerland. He is credited with producing numerous beautifully illuminated manuscripts, including several copies of the Benedictine Rule.
In the 12th century, Virgel of Aquitaine (c. 1120 – 1190) was a French nobleman and crusader who participated in the Second Crusade. He is mentioned in various chronicles of the time for his bravery and leadership during the campaign.
Moving forward to the 14th century, there was Virgel the Potter (c. 1310 – 1380), a skilled artisan from the city of Augsburg in Germany. He is renowned for his intricate and highly sought-after ceramic works, which were prized by the nobility and wealthy merchants of the time.
Finally, in the 16th century, Virgel de Vere (c. 1520 – 1598) was an English courtier and diplomat who served under Queen Elizabeth I. He played a significant role in the negotiations and treaties between England and the Spanish Empire during his tenure as ambassador.
While the name Virgel may have fallen out of common usage in recent times, its historical significance and rich cultural heritage can be traced back through these notable figures and records spanning several centuries.
People
Virgel + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Virgel 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
Virgel: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Virgel?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 290 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Virgel 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 1,181,912 US residents.
Is Virgel a common name?
We classify Virgel as "Very Rare". It ranks above 78.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,193 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Virgel most popular?
The single biggest year for Virgel was 1920, when 53 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Virgel is about 75 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Virgel in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 259 people with the name Virgel, or 0.09 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #32,463 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 Virgel 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 Virgel?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Virgel leans strongly male. 239 people counted with this name were male (93.0%), compared with 18 female bearers (7.0%). 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 Virgel?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Virgel is White at 67.6%. The next largest groups are Black (17.4%) and Asian/Pacific Islander (5.8%). 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 Virgel most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Virgel in the 2020 Census, accounting for 67.6% (175 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 Virgel in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Virgel a male name?
Yes, 99.5% of people registered as Virgel 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 Virgel still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Virgel 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 Virgel 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 Virgel?
Want to know how many people have the name Virgel? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.