Given name & surname · also Gaelic
Virgil
“the staff-bearer”
Virgil is used as a given name and a surname. One Latin interpretation is “the staff-bearer.” Its derivation is not certain.
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Latin interpretation is “the staff-bearer.” Its derivation is not certain.
Where it comes from
A possible origin is Latin, although the derivation remains uncertain.
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
Virgil through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 73,453
- 72,009 boys · 1,444 girls
- Most popular year
- 1921
- 1,869 babies
- 2025
- 129
- #1,417 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +27%
- Rising
Where it’s given
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 129 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 1,417 among boys’ names. Average annual use for boys was 26.6% higher in 2021–2025 than in 2016–2020. Its largest published annual count for boys was 1,830 in 1921. In 2025, California and Texas shared the largest reported state-level birth count for boys with this name (14 each). Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 24,101 as a first name in 2020; 2,583 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.
Virgil’s family of names
Virgil shares a linguistic root with Virgilio. Virgil has a related form in Vergil. In English usage, Virgil has a conventional equivalent in the Italian form Virgilio.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Virgil has relatives in 4 languages. Lines run from its Latin roots to each of them.
4 related names in 4 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 7
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 6
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
See also 4
Names our sources mention alongside this one. They are related in story or meaning, not forms of this name.
People named Virgil
- Virgil van DijkDutch association football player (born 1991)
- Gus GrissomAmerican astronaut (1926–1967)
- Virgil AblohAmerican fashion designer (1980-2021)
- Dusty RhodesAmerican professional wrestler (1945–2015)
- Virgil WidrichAustrian director and scriptwriter (born 1967)
- Virgil ThomsonAmerican composer and critic (1896–1989)
- Virgil of SalzburgIrish churchman, astronomer, bishop of Salzburg700–784
- Virgil MisidjanDutch-Surinamese association football playerborn 1993
- Virgil HillAmerican boxerborn 1964
Characters named Virgil: Virgil Sollozzo (The Godfather series).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Appears in
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