US rank #226 Girls' name Peak 1918 147,970 births

Vera — #226 US girls' name

147,970 babies named Vera in U.S. Social Security records since 1880, with the highest year being 1918. Year-by-year trend, decade aggregates, and state-level rankings drawn from federal birth data.

1880s13651890s63771900s104571910s282891920s325421930s180221940s121891950s110411960s60311970s22591980s13111990s8692000s16122010s90522020s6554
#226
of 17,661 girls in use

More common than 99% of names given to girls today.

1920s
Peak decade

22% of everyone ever named Vera was born in this single decade.

1918
Single peak year

3,923 babies were named Vera in 1918 — its busiest year on record.

What the Data Says About Vera

The Social Security Administration has registered 147,970 babies named Vera between 1880 and 2024, spanning 145 consecutive years of U.S. birth records. As a girl's name, Vera currently holds the #226 rank among girls for 2024. The name reached its historical peak in 1918, when 3,923 babies received it in a single year.

Decade-level aggregation shows that Vera performed strongest in the 1920s, accumulating 32,542 births during that ten-year window. Across the 15 decades of recorded activity, Vera shows a clear decline from its mid-century high. Geographically, the name is most concentrated in Texas, which accounts for 8,621 births — the largest state-level total in the dataset — followed by New York and Pennsylvania. In total, SSA state-level files list Vera in 51 of the 51 U.S. reporting jurisdictions.

No etymological entry is currently available for Vera in our reference dataset. These figures derive from SSA's annual national and state-level name files, which include any name appearing at least five times in a given year or state-year; names below that threshold are suppressed for privacy and therefore excluded from the totals shown here. The 147,970 total represents a lower bound — actual usage may be higher in years or states where the count fell below the disclosure floor. This page is provided for informational and research purposes only and does not constitute personal, legal, or naming advice.

Vera at a glance

Top 1,000 girls' name

Total births

147,970

Since 1880

145 years of records

Peak year

1918

3,923 births that year

Strongest decade: 1920s

Current rank

#226

Among girls

As of 2024

Active since

1880

Recorded for 145 years

Last year on file: 2024

Vera popularity over time — girls

Annual U.S. births registered with the Social Security Administration · 2024–1880

Top 1,000 girls' name
Peak year (1918)
3,923
Annual births at peak — across 145 years of records
-1,00001,0002,0003,0004,0005,000 202420051986196719481929191018911880 48

Vera popularity over time — boys

398 total births recorded since 1897 (Vera as boys' name)

Unisex variant — 398 births
0510152025 19631942193519291923191719101897 6

Vera by decade

Total births in each ten-year window — peak vs trough at a glance

Peak: 1920s
Peak decade
1920s
32,542 births that decade — 22% of Vera's all-time total
1880s13651890s63771900s104571910s282891920s325421930s180221940s121891950s110411960s60311970s22591980s13111990s8692000s16122010s90522020s6554

Vera by state

Where Vera concentrates geographically — total births since 1880

Geographically diffuse
Top 8 states by recorded births for the name Vera
Rank State Visual share Births Share of total
#1 Texas
8,621 5.8%
#2 New York
7,628 5.2%
#3 Pennsylvania
6,855 4.6%
#4 Illinois
6,417 4.3%
#5 California
6,231 4.2%
#6 Ohio
5,608 3.8%
#7 Georgia
5,347 3.6%
#8 Alabama
5,121 3.5%
Texas share of Vera's total US births 5.8%
Even split

8,621 of 147,970 births nationwide. Compared to a flat distribution across 51 reporting states.

Vera appears in 51 states. Explore state details →

Frequently Asked Questions

How popular is the name Vera?
147,970 babies have been named Vera since 1880. It currently ranks #226 among girls. The peak year was 1918 with 3,923 births.
When was Vera most popular?
Vera was most popular in the 1920s decade with 32,542 total births. The single peak year was 1918.
Where is Vera most popular?
The top states for the name Vera are Texas (8,621 births), New York (7,628 births), Pennsylvania (6,855 births).
How long has the name Vera been used?
Vera has been recorded in Social Security data since 1880, spanning 145 years of data through 2024.
What names are similar to Vera?
Names with a similar sound or spelling include Veronica, Verna, Verda, Vernice, and 4 more. These share a common prefix and are also used for girls.

Keep exploring Vera

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Data Sources

Data as of 2024. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration (SSA).

Primary: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names from Social Security Card Applications — National Data, 1880–2024 (ssa.gov/oact/babynames). National-level data includes all names with 5 or more occurrences in a given year.

State-level: Source: U.S. Social Security Administration, Baby Names — State-Level Files (namesbystate.zip). Includes all names with 5 or more occurrences per state per year; rarer names are excluded for privacy.