# Vernon (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/vernon/  
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 |
| Origin | not recorded |
| Meaning | “alder”, “place of alder trees” |
| Pronunciation | /ˈvɝnən/, 2 syllables |
| Nicknames | Vernie, Vern |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 148,389 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 146,413 / 1,976 (1% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 102, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Transalpine Gaulish uerna (“alder”) (from Proto-Celtic *wernā, from Proto-Indo-European *wern-) + -o, -onis (locative suffix, literally “place of alder trees”).

## 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 |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 13 | 4,487 |
| 1971 | 11 | 5,123 |
| 1972 | 11 | 5,101 |
| 1973 | 10 | 5,567 |
| 1974 | 7 | 7,664 |
| 1975 | 10 | 5,973 |
| 1976 | 10 | 6,035 |
| 1977 | 6 | 9,618 |
| 1978 | 7 | 8,536 |
| 1979 | 5 | 11,921 |
| 1980 | 6 | 10,355 |
| 1982 | 12 | 5,896 |
| 1984 | 8 | 8,130 |
| 1985 | 7 | 9,280 |
| 1987 | 6 | 11,269 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 118 | 1,410 |
| 2012 | 118 | 1,418 |
| 2013 | 113 | 1,467 |
| 2014 | 123 | 1,387 |
| 2015 | 106 | 1,545 |
| 2016 | 111 | 1,521 |
| 2017 | 115 | 1,476 |
| 2018 | 103 | 1,602 |
| 2019 | 115 | 1,490 |
| 2020 | 80 | 1,870 |
| 2021 | 125 | 1,452 |
| 2022 | 118 | 1,531 |
| 2023 | 107 | 1,631 |
| 2024 | 112 | 1,562 |
| 2025 | 133 | 1,387 |

### England and Wales, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 5 | 2,254 |
| 2003 | 6 | 2,189 |
| 2004 | 10 | 1,596 |
| 2005 | 8 | 1,991 |
| 2006 | 9 | 1,892 |
| 2007 | 5 | 3,095 |
| 2008 | 3 | 4,432 |
| 2009 | 5 | 3,227 |
| 2010 | 6 | 2,941 |
| 2011 | 3 | 4,647 |
| 2014 | 4 | 3,895 |
| 2017 | 5 | 3,449 |
| 2019 | 4 | 3,937 |
| 2021 | 5 | 3,451 |
| 2024 | 3 | 5,119 |

## People named Vernon

- Vernon L. Smith, American economist
- John Vernon, Canadian actor (1932–2005)
- Vernon Norwood, American sprinter
- Vernon Duke, American composer (1903-1969)
- Vernon Reid, American fusion and crossover guitarist (born 1958)
- Vernon Wells, Australian actor
- Vernon Dobtcheff, British actor
- Vernon Forrest, American boxer (1971–2009)
- Vernon Maxwell, American basketball player, shooting guard
- George Vernon Hudson, English-born New Zealand entomologist and astronomer (1867–1946)
- Vernon Sturdee, former Australian Chief of the General Staff
- Vernon Carey Jr., American basketball player (born 2001)

## 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.