Virgen
A feminine given name of Spanish origin meaning "virgin" or "maiden".
Name Census estimates that about 358 living Americans carry the first name Virgen. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Virgen today is around 48 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Virgen births was 1974 (23 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Virgen. 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
358
~ 1 in 957,414 Americans
Peak year
1974
23 babies that year
Average age
48
years old
2007 SSA rank
#20,412
Tracked since 1953
Census
Virgen in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 1,647 people with the first name Virgen, which placed it at #8,729 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
#8,729
National first-name rank
People counted
1.6K
1,647 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.5
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
97.9% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Virgen
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Virgen is Hispanic at 97.9%. The next largest groups are White (1.4%) and Black (0.4%). 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 Virgen 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 Virgen at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino97.9% · 1,613
- White1.4% · 23
- Black or African American0.4% · 7
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.2% · 3
- Two or more races0.1% · 1
Popularity
Virgen: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Virgen from the 1950s through to the 2000s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 149 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1970s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Virgen 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 Virgen during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Virgens live
The SSA's state-level files cover 4 states and territories. New York, New Jersey, Illinois recorded the most babies named Virgen, while Massachusetts, Illinois, New Jersey recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 32 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Virgen
The name Virgen is a Spanish given name derived from the Latin word "virgo," meaning "virgin." It has its origins in ancient Roman culture, where the word "virgo" was used to refer to the astrological sign Virgo, as well as to the Roman goddess of wheat and agriculture, who was depicted as a young, unmarried woman.
The name Virgen gained popularity in the Christian tradition, where it was associated with the Virgin Mary, the mother of Jesus Christ. The Virgin Mary was revered as a symbol of purity and virginity, and her name became a popular choice for girls born into Catholic families across Spanish-speaking regions.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Virgen can be found in the medieval Spanish epic poem "El Cantar de Mio Cid," which dates back to the 12th century. In this poem, the protagonist's wife is named Virgen Jimena, suggesting that the name was in use during this period.
Throughout history, several notable women have borne the name Virgen. One example is Virgen de los Reyes (1524-1598), a Spanish noblewoman and member of the House of Habsburg who served as the Vicereine of Peru during the Spanish colonial era.
Another famous Virgen was Virgen del Socorro (1768-1842), a Mexican Roman Catholic mystic and religious leader who founded the Daughters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary religious order. She is recognized as a saint by the Catholic Church.
In the 19th century, Virgen de la Luz Camarillo (1835-1908) was a Mexican-American businesswoman and philanthropist who owned a successful ranching empire in California. She was known for her charitable work and contributions to the development of the city of Camarillo.
Virgen de la Caridad del Cobre (1608-1687), also known as La Cachita, is a prominent figure in Cuban culture. She is the patron saint of Cuba and is deeply revered by both Catholics and practitioners of the Afro-Cuban religion known as Santería.
Finally, Virgen Milagro (1905-1995) was a Mexican actress and singer who gained fame in the Golden Age of Mexican cinema. She appeared in numerous films and is remembered for her iconic roles in several popular movies from the 1940s and 1950s.
People
Virgen + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Virgen 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
Virgen: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Virgen?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 358 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Virgen 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 957,414 US residents.
Is Virgen a common name?
We classify Virgen as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 397 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Virgen most popular?
The single biggest year for Virgen was 1974, when 23 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Virgen is about 48 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Virgen in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 1,647 people with the name Virgen, or 0.55 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #8,729 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 Virgen 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 Virgen?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Virgen leans strongly female. 1,622 people counted with this name were female (98.7%), compared with 22 male bearers (1.3%). 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 Virgen?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Virgen is Hispanic at 97.9%. The next largest groups are White (1.4%) and Black (0.4%). 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 Virgen most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Virgen in the 2020 Census, accounting for 97.9% (1,613 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 Virgen in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Virgen a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Virgen 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 Virgen still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Virgen 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 Virgen 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 are called Virgen?
You can see how many Americans are named Virgen on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.