Vernon
Vernon was given to 133 boys in 2025, #1,387 among boys’ names; 148,389 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 54,700 Americans named Vernon and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (37% of everyone recorded); the median is 65 years old and half are between 51 and 75.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Vernon by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Vernon mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Vernon is “a male given name transferred from the surname, of 19th century and later usage.” Its etymology gives the senses “alder” (uerna) and “place of alder trees” (literally).
From Transalpine Gaulish uerna (“alder”) (from Proto-Celtic *wernā, from Proto-Indo-European *wern-) + -o, -onis (locative suffix, literally “place of alder trees”).
/ˈvɝnən/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Vernon?
#1,387 among boys’ names, 2025
Vernon rose from #1,545 in 2015 to #1,387 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born rose from 55.3 to 77.9 per million.
3,199 babies in 1920, the peak
Vernon peaked in 1920, when 3,199 babies were given it (3,144 boys, #65 among boys’ names). The 133 births of 2025 are 4% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 133 | #1,387 | 0.08 |
| 2024 | 112 | #1,562 | 0.07 |
| 2023 | 107 | #1,631 | 0.06 |
| 2022 | 118 | #1,531 | 0.07 |
| 2021 | 125 | #1,452 | 0.07 |
| 2020 | 80 | #1,870 | 0.05 |
| 2019 | 115 | #1,490 | 0.06 |
| 2018 | 103 | #1,602 | 0.06 |
| 2017 | 115 | #1,476 | 0.06 |
| 2016 | 111 | #1,521 | 0.06 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 106 | #1,545 | 0.06 |
| 2014 | 123 | #1,387 | 0.06 |
| 2013 | 113 | #1,467 | 0.06 |
| 2012 | 118 | #1,418 | 0.06 |
| 2011 | 118 | #1,410 | 0.06 |
| 2010 | 138 | #1,266 | 0.07 |
| 2009 | 115 | #1,456 | 0.06 |
| 2008 | 137 | #1,275 | 0.07 |
| 2007 | 151 | #1,175 | 0.07 |
| 2006 | 146 | #1,161 | 0.07 |
| 2005 | 136 | #1,180 | 0.07 |
| 2004 | 147 | #1,084 | 0.07 |
| 2003 | 174 | #944 | 0.09 |
| 2002 | 176 | #915 | 0.09 |
| 2001 | 184 | #871 | 0.09 |
| 2000 | 196 | #818 | 0.10 |
| 1999 | 214 | #748 | 0.11 |
| 1998 | 216 | #747 | 0.11 |
| 1997 | 234 | #690 | 0.12 |
| 1996 | 255 | #654 | 0.13 |
| 1995 | 237 | #688 | 0.12 |
| 1994 | 277 | #626 | 0.14 |
| 1993 | 306 | #589 | 0.16 |
| 1992 | 323 | #565 | 0.16 |
| 1991 | 383 | #509 | 0.19 |
| 1990 | 394 | #488 | 0.19 |
| 1989 | 408 | #468 | 0.20 |
| 1988 | 463 | #419 | 0.24 |
| 1987 | 488 | #390 | 0.26 |
| 1986 | 447 | #404 | 0.24 |
| 1985 | 547 | #345 | 0.30 |
| 1984 | 552 | #337 | 0.31 |
| 1983 | 559 | #333 | 0.31 |
| 1982 | 573 | #333 | 0.32 |
| 1981 | 631 | #305 | 0.35 |
| 1980 | 707 | #290 | 0.40 |
| 1979 | 631 | #309 | 0.37 |
| 1978 | 622 | #300 | 0.38 |
| 1977 | 695 | #278 | 0.42 |
| 1976 | 649 | #291 | 0.41 |
| 1975 | 690 | #278 | 0.44 |
| 1974 | 752 | #258 | 0.48 |
| 1973 | 790 | #248 | 0.51 |
| 1972 | 865 | #245 | 0.53 |
| 1971 | 942 | #243 | 0.53 |
| 1970 | 1,086 | #224 | 0.58 |
| 1969 | 1,069 | #220 | 0.60 |
| 1968 | 1,143 | #203 | 0.66 |
| 1967 | 1,141 | #204 | 0.65 |
| 1966 | 1,284 | #191 | 0.72 |
| 1965 | 1,358 | #188 | 0.73 |
| 1964 | 1,568 | #174 | 0.79 |
| 1963 | 1,572 | #190 | 0.77 |
| 1962 | 1,673 | #182 | 0.81 |
| 1961 | 1,771 | #175 | 0.83 |
| 1960 | 1,830 | #173 | 0.86 |
| 1959 | 1,790 | #172 | 0.84 |
| 1958 | 1,927 | #164 | 0.91 |
| 1957 | 1,976 | #161 | 0.92 |
| 1956 | 2,057 | #151 | 1.0 |
| 1955 | 2,035 | #146 | 1.0 |
| 1954 | 2,097 | #144 | 1.0 |
| 1953 | 2,059 | #141 | 1.0 |
| 1952 | 2,082 | #137 | 1.1 |
| 1951 | 2,104 | #131 | 1.1 |
| 1950 | 2,006 | #134 | 1.1 |
| 1949 | 1,951 | #141 | 1.1 |
| 1948 | 2,034 | #136 | 1.2 |
| 1947 | 2,114 | #134 | 1.2 |
| 1946 | 1,966 | #130 | 1.2 |
| 1945 | 1,936 | #118 | 1.4 |
| 1944 | 1,924 | #119 | 1.4 |
| 1943 | 2,093 | #117 | 1.5 |
| 1942 | 2,103 | #114 | 1.5 |
| 1941 | 1,976 | #108 | 1.6 |
| 1940 | 1,941 | #105 | 1.7 |
| 1939 | 1,994 | #100 | 1.8 |
| 1938 | 1,958 | #103 | 1.8 |
| 1937 | 2,076 | #96 | 1.9 |
| 1936 | 2,028 | #93 | 2.0 |
| 1935 | 2,112 | #94 | 2.0 |
| 1934 | 2,227 | #89 | 2.2 |
| 1933 | 2,206 | #83 | 2.2 |
| 1932 | 2,428 | #78 | 2.3 |
| 1931 | 2,465 | #74 | 2.4 |
| 1930 | 2,703 | #72 | 2.5 |
| 1929 | 2,683 | #71 | 2.5 |
| 1928 | 2,852 | #70 | 2.6 |
| 1927 | 2,852 | #71 | 2.5 |
| 1926 | 2,953 | #66 | 2.7 |
| 1925 | 2,912 | #67 | 2.6 |
| 1924 | 3,008 | #68 | 2.7 |
| 1923 | 2,956 | #67 | 2.7 |
| 1922 | 3,003 | #68 | 2.8 |
| 1921 | 3,069 | #68 | 2.8 |
| 1920 | 3,144 | #65 | 3.0 |
| 1919 | 2,929 | #65 | 3.0 |
| 1918 | 2,971 | #66 | 2.9 |
| 1917 | 2,463 | #71 | 2.7 |
| 1916 | 2,288 | #75 | 2.6 |
| 1915 | 2,060 | #80 | 2.4 |
| 1914 | 1,455 | #83 | 2.2 |
| 1913 | 1,143 | #83 | 2.2 |
| 1912 | 889 | #90 | 2.1 |
| 1911 | 418 | #96 | 1.8 |
| 1910 | 351 | #94 | 1.8 |
| 1909 | 284 | #97 | 1.7 |
| 1908 | 285 | #93 | 1.8 |
| 1907 | 222 | #109 | 1.5 |
| 1906 | 223 | #97 | 1.7 |
| 1905 | 208 | #104 | 1.6 |
| 1904 | 178 | #118 | 1.4 |
| 1903 | 179 | #109 | 1.5 |
| 1902 | 175 | #111 | 1.4 |
| 1901 | 129 | #132 | 1.2 |
| 1900 | 170 | #133 | 1.1 |
| 1899 | 130 | #123 | 1.2 |
| 1898 | 143 | #130 | 1.2 |
| 1897 | 152 | #114 | 1.3 |
| 1896 | 129 | #132 | 1.1 |
| 1895 | 131 | #129 | 1.1 |
| 1894 | 131 | #120 | 1.1 |
| 1893 | 112 | #136 | 1.0 |
| 1892 | 108 | #149 | 0.88 |
| 1891 | 96 | #142 | 0.95 |
| 1890 | 83 | #171 | 0.75 |
| 1889 | 73 | #184 | 0.66 |
| 1888 | 78 | #193 | 0.65 |
| 1887 | 79 | #159 | 0.78 |
| 1886 | 73 | #188 | 0.66 |
| 1885 | 71 | #186 | 0.66 |
| 1884 | 50 | #243 | 0.44 |
| 1883 | 46 | #235 | 0.44 |
| 1882 | 53 | #227 | 0.47 |
| 1881 | 57 | #202 | 0.57 |
| 1880 | 56 | #214 | 0.51 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Vernon a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 148,389 Americans recorded as Vernon, 1% are girls and 99% boys. In 2025 it went to 133 boys; SSA lists no girls with it that year (fewer than 5, or none).
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Vernon: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Vernon, and how old are they?
54,700 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 37% of the 148,389 Americans ever recorded as Vernon. The median Vernon alive today is 65 years old; half are between 51 and 75.
The 2020 Census counted 56,780 people named Vernon (287 women and girls, 56,493 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 64,843 born in the U.S. The Census count is 12% below that prediction. Possible reasons: people who give a short form or another name to the Census, and a survival estimate that can run high.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 7,220 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 24,200 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 12,700 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 6,510 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 2,550 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 1,450 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Vernon born?
The states with the most babies named Vernon are Texas, Illinois and California, with 17% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 9,458 | #1,899 | 1.1× |
| Illinois | 7,477 | not ranked | 0.9× |
| California | 7,134 | not ranked | 0.8× |
| Ohio | 6,293 | #1,009 | 0.8× |
| Missouri | 5,727 | not ranked | 1.5× |
| Minnesota | 5,409 | #581 | 1.7× |
| North Carolina | 5,235 | #1,453 | 1.1× |
| Pennsylvania | 5,231 | not ranked | 0.5× |
| New York | 4,948 | #1,114 | 0.4× |
| Oklahoma | 4,465 | not ranked | 1.7× |
Where Vernon is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Vernon is most over-represented in North Dakota: since 1910 it was given 2.4 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Vernon with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 3 names spelled alike, given to 160,854 babies since 1880, Vernon is the most given (92% of them). In 2025 it was given to 133 of their 140 babies (95%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Vernon
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Vernon and names like it
- Compare Vernon and VernBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1920sVernon peaked in 1920.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Vernon since 1910.
- From surnamesWiktionary’s origin for Vernon: every such name, by how often it is given.
- The top names of 1920The year the most babies were named Vernon.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Vernon alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with VMost given first.