# Laverne (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/laverne/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | boys and girls |
| Origin | not recorded |
| Meaning | “the green”, “the alder (tree place)” |
| Pronunciation | not recorded |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 56,124 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 13,246 / 42,878 (76% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 5, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

19th-century invention, possibly from the Californian town La Verne, named in the belief that it means "the green" in French. Laverne is a genuine French surname, from Gaulish la verne "the alder (tree place)" but - as in the case of Leroy - there is no apparent reason to turn it into an American given name.

## What it means

Laverne is grouped under green.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1986 | 15 | 5,097 |
| 1987 | 13 | 5,784 |
| 1988 | 19 | 4,580 |
| 1989 | 19 | 4,772 |
| 1990 | 18 | 5,182 |
| 1991 | 16 | 5,821 |
| 1992 | 15 | 6,179 |
| 1993 | 13 | 6,872 |
| 1994 | 13 | 6,903 |
| 1995 | 6 | 12,650 |
| 1996 | 5 | 14,797 |
| 1997 | 5 | 15,082 |
| 1998 | 8 | 10,685 |
| 2003 | 5 | 17,227 |
| 2025 | 9 | 10,542 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 5 | 13,200 |
| 2008 | 6 | 11,963 |
| 2009 | 5 | 13,660 |
| 2010 | 8 | 9,324 |
| 2012 | 5 | 13,405 |
| 2013 | 5 | 13,262 |
| 2014 | 9 | 8,526 |
| 2015 | 10 | 7,819 |
| 2016 | 6 | 11,581 |
| 2019 | 7 | 10,380 |
| 2020 | 9 | 8,459 |
| 2021 | 6 | 11,570 |
| 2022 | 5 | 13,525 |
| 2023 | 13 | 6,744 |
| 2024 | 9 | 8,706 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 5 | 2,738 |

## People named Laverne

- Laverne Cox, American actress and LGBT advocate (born 1972)
- Angie Stone, American singer and actress (1961–2025)
- L. Scott Caldwell, American actress
- Trina, American rapper
- Harry Anderson, American actor and magician (1952–2018)
- Kay Starr, American singer (1922–2016)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.