Given name & surname · also Slavic, Latin
Vera
“faith”·“the truth”·“one with faith”
Vera is used as a given name and a surname. Interpretations include “faith”, “the truth”, and “one with faith”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Original RussianВера
Meaning & origin
What it means
Interpretations include “faith”, “the truth”, and “one with faith”. These belong to different or overlapping naming contexts.
Where it comes from
This spelling has been associated with Latin and Russian naming traditions. The precise derivation is uncertain.
How it developed
In Latin usage, Vera is a feminine form of VERUS.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1880. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Vera through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 149,854
- 398 boys · 149,456 girls
- Most popular year
- 1918
- 3,934 babies
- 2025
- 1,482
- #205 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +14%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 1,482 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 205 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 13.9% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 3,923 in 1918. In 2025, California had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (122). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 55,795 as a first name in 2020; 33,109 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Vera’s family of names
Vera has an affectionate form in Veruska. In English usage, Vera shares a linguistic root with the Estonian form Veera. Vera has a related form in Verla.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Vera has relatives in 22 languages. Lines run from its Proto-Slavic roots to each of them.
20 related names in 22 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 17
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 1
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 16
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 3
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Vera
- Vera FarmigaAmerican actress (born 1973)
- Vera RubinAmerican astronomer and physicist (1928-2016)
- Vera MukhinaSoviet sculptor (1889-1953)
- Vera LynnBritish singer (1917–2020)
- Vera ZvonarevaRussian tennis playerborn 1984
- Mindy KalingAmerican actress, writer, and comedianborn 1979
- Vera WangAmerican fashion designer (born 1939)born 1949
- Vera MilesAmerican actress (born 1929)born 1930
- Vera BrezhnevaUkrainian-Russian pop-singerborn 1982
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Vera, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Elvira
“a-truthful woman; one who can be trusted”
>99% girls
Alma
“one who is nurturing and kind” · “refers to the soul”
1% boys · 99% girls
Leona
“having the strength of a lion” · “resembling a lion”
>99% girls
Frances
“woman from France; one who is free” · “a man from France; one who is free”
1% boys · 99% girls
Marian
“a manly man”
1% boys · 99% girls
Estella
“resembling a star”
>99% girls
Lorraine
“territory of the people of Lothar” · “from the kingdom of Lothair”
>99% girls
Celia
“heaven”
>99% girls