Given name & surname · also Latin
Verna
“woman from Verona”·“from the alder-tree grove”·“of the defending army”
In English use, Verna is a contracted form of Verona. One Italian interpretation is “woman from Verona.” Its derivation is not certain. Verna is a feminine form of Vernon. One French interpretation is “from the alder-tree grove.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
In English use, Verna is a contracted form of Verona. One Italian interpretation is “woman from Verona.” Its derivation is not certain. Verna is a feminine form of Vernon. One French interpretation is “from the alder-tree grove.” In Swedish use, Verna is a feminine form of Verner. In Scandinavian use, Verner carries the interpretation “of the defending army.” In English use, Verna is a contracted form of Verena. One German interpretation is “protector and defender.” Its derivation is not certain.
Explained through its name family
Where it comes from
This spelling has been associated with Latin and English naming traditions.
How it developed
Verna is a feminine form of Vernon. In Swedish usage, Verna is a feminine form of Verner.
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. In English use, Verna is a contracted form of Verona. The history of Verona gives this family its wider story. Verona appears as the daughter’s name in Sinclair Lewis’s Babbitt. This literary use helped make the spelling familiar, without settling whether its origin is the place name or Veronica. Verna is a feminine form of Vernon. The history of Vernon gives this family its wider story. Vernon’s naming history includes the use of a family name as a given name.
Combines direct and name-family evidence
Verna through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 69,638
- 525 boys · 69,113 girls
- Most popular year
- 1918
- 1,885 babies
- 2025
- 44
- #3,513 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −8%
- Steady
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 44 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 3,513 among girls’ names. Average annual use for girls was 7.6% lower in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for girls was 1,873 in 1918. In 2025, Pennsylvania had the largest reported state-level birth count for girls with this name (11). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 21,649 as a first name in 2020; 1,287 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.
Verna’s family of names
In English usage, Verna has a diminutive in VERNIE. Verna is a feminine form of Vernon. Verna has a related form in Vernita.
Inner ring: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 18
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Across languages 2
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Verna
- Verna FeltonAmerican actress (1890–1966)
- Verna BloomAmerican actress (1938–2019)
- Verna FieldsAmerican film editor and entertainment industry executive (1918-1982)
- Verna HillieAmerican actress (1914-1997)
- Verna JohnstonAustralian sprinter and long jumper1930–2010
- Verna AardemaAmerican children's writer (1911–2000)
- Verna EriksonFinnish weapon smuggler for the Helsinki White Guard1893–1918
- Verna Cook SalomonskyAmerican architect1888–1978
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
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