How rare is the name Vernon?

56,780 people in the United States have the first name Vernon, about 1 in 5,319. It ranks #828 of 53,615 first names in the 2020 Census.

first name

VERNON

#828

of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census

People
56,780
About
1 in 5,319
This common or more
67.2%
Who bears it

Of the 56,780 people named Vernon, 65.4% reported their origin as White, 26.5% as Black and 2.8% as two or more races. Virtually all are male (99.5%). These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.

Vernon peaked in 1920, when 3,199 babies got the name.

Births per year, SSA records 1880–2025
18802025
Peak year
1920
Births that year
3,199
In 2025*
133 ▼96%
Recorded as
almost entirely male

At least 148,389 babies have been given the name since 1880. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.

Vernon by decade

Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1920s, when it ranked #159. The largest share of babies named Vernon, 29.4%, were born between 1901 and 1927, the Greatest Generation's birth years.

1880s#435656
1890s#3651,299
1900s#3132,180
1910s#17717,314
1920s#15929,944
1930s#20522,471
1940s#26320,225
1950s#32420,312
1960s#41114,526
1970s#5777,812
1980s#7705,414
1990s#1,3532,839
2000s#2,4261,562
2010s#3,2261,160
2020s#3,291675
Before 19011.4%
Greatest Generation 1901–2729.4%
Silent Generation 1928–4527.1%
Baby boom 1946–6424.9%
Generation X 1965–809.8%
Millennials 1981–964.6%
Generation Z 1997–121.8%
2013 and later1%

Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.

Where Vernon is most common

Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Vernon has been most common in North Dakota (4.1×), South Dakota (3×), and Oklahoma (2.3×), and least common in Rhode Island (0.14×).

139,385 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.

Either side of Vernon

#826 Mckenzie · 56,889#827 Sonya · 56,885#829 Adrienne · 56,597#830 Gracie · 56,345

Spelled almost the same

3 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Vernon, most common first.

#44,236 Vernona · 157#46,856 Vermon · 141#51,501 Vernan · 113

Also a last name

As a last name, Vernon ranks #2,121 of 156,621, with 16,596 people. See Vernon as a last name

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