Virna
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly derived from Verna meaning "spring flower".
Name Census estimates that about 160 living Americans carry the first name Virna. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Virna today is around 57 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Virna births was 1965 (38 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Virna. 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
160
~ 1 in 2,142,215 Americans
Peak year
1965
38 babies that year
Average age
57
years old
1978 SSA rank
#9,723
Tracked since 1920
Census
Virna in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 633 people with the first name Virna, which placed it at #17,430 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
#17,430
National first-name rank
People counted
633
633 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
66.4% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Virna
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Virna is Hispanic at 66.4%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (15.0%) and Black (8.7%). 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 Virna 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 Virna at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino66.4% · 420
- Asian and Pacific Islander15.0% · 95
- Black or African American8.7% · 55
- White8.4% · 53
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 6
- Two or more races0.6% · 4
Popularity
Virna: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Virna from the 1920s through to the 1970s, spanning 3 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 97 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Virna 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 Virna during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Virnas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Virna
The name Virna is believed to have originated from the Latin word "virens," which means "green" or "flourishing." It is thought to have been derived from the Latin root "vir," meaning "man" or "strength." This suggests that the name may have been associated with vitality, fertility, and growth in its earliest origins.
The name has been traced back to ancient Roman times, where it was used as a feminine name, possibly inspired by the Roman goddess of spring, Flora. In some historical records, it is also spelled as "Virnae" or "Vernae," reflecting the variations in spelling that were common in ancient times.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Virna can be found in a 5th-century Christian text, where it was mentioned as the name of a Roman martyr who lived during the reign of Emperor Diocletian. This early Christian connection may have contributed to the name's enduring popularity in certain regions.
In the Middle Ages, the name Virna gained popularity in parts of Europe, particularly in Italy and Spain. During this time, the name was often associated with virtues such as purity, innocence, and devotion.
Notable historical figures with the name Virna include:
1. Virna Lisi (1936-2014), an Italian actress known for her roles in films such as "How to Murder Your Wife" and "Beyond Good and Evil."
2. Virna Haffer (born 1948), a German-born American author and women's rights activist.
3. Virna Jandric (born 1977), a Croatian singer and songwriter known for her contributions to the Balkan music scene.
4. Virna Sacchi (born 1971), an Italian politician and member of the European Parliament.
5. Virna Milović (born 1986), a Serbian singer and songwriter who has represented Serbia in international music competitions.
While the name Virna has roots in ancient Latin and Roman culture, it has been adopted and adapted by various cultures throughout history, reflecting the diverse backgrounds and influences that have shaped this unique and enduring name.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Virna
People
Virna + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Virna 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
Virna: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Virna?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 160 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Virna 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 2,142,215 US residents.
Is Virna a common name?
We classify Virna as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 194 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Virna most popular?
The single biggest year for Virna was 1965, when 38 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Virna is about 57 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Virna in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 633 people with the name Virna, or 0.21 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #17,430 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 Virna 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 Virna?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Virna appears almost entirely female. Of the 640 people counted with this name, 100.0% 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 Virna?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Virna is Hispanic at 66.4%. The next largest groups are Asian/Pacific Islander (15.0%) and Black (8.7%). 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 Virna most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Virna in the 2020 Census, accounting for 66.4% (420 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 Virna in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Virna a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Virna 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 Virna still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Virna 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 Virna 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 common is the name Virna?
For a quick modern estimate, our sister site HowManyOfMe.org answers that in one glance, with the living-bearer count front and centre.