The letter V gives us relatively few names, but the ones it does give us are gems. From the queenly Victoria and the steady Vincent to the wonderfully rare Verity and the popular sound of Vander, V names are where it's at! Just take a look at some names celebrities are choosing for their little ones, such as Violet, Vivienne and Viggo. As I looked at the V names from 2012, I couldn't help but notice a lot of forgotten ones that should be remembered, as well as some interesting picks from beyond the US borders. Let's take a look at the names that jumped out at me with their number of 2012 births...
Well-Known
Valentina 1984
Valeria 2136
Valerie 1854
Vanessa 2540
Veronica 1012
Victoria 6814
Violet 3253
Vivian 2240
Victor 2852
Vincent 3705
Oldies But Goodies
Velma 5
Vera 608
Viola 162
Virginia 502
Vernon 115
Vince 150
Virgil 50
Place Names
Venice 28
Verona 29
Vienna 214
Words
Valentine 28
Valkyrie 26
Vanity 43
Velvet 12
Venus 73
Verity 51
Victory 40
Valentine 25
Valor 42
From Beyond Our Borders
Valencia 92 (Spanish)
Vanna 35 (Italian)
Vanya 38 (Russian)
Veda 175 (Indian)
Vida 136 (Hungarian)
Violeta 230 (Spanish)
Viviana 637 (Italian, Spanish)
Vivienne 978 (French)
Valentin 231 (Scandinavian, French, German, Slavic)
Valentino 270 (Italian)
Vicente 238 (Spanish)
Vidal 35 (Spanish)
Viggo 29 (Scandinavian)
Vihaan 366 (Indian)
Vincenzo 304 (Italian)
Viraj 51 (Indian)
Vito 75 (Italian, Spanish)
Vivaan 169 (Indian)
Vladimir 147 (Slavic)
Vladislav 17 (Slavic)
Various Other Vs
Vada 157
Vala 12
Vashti 19 (Biblical)
Vega 23 (a star in the constellation Lyra)
Vesper 30
Vianney 120
Vivica 18
Valen 47
Van 248
Vander 60 (like the popular Xander and Zander but with a V!)
Varun 64
Vash 15 (we have Cash and Nash, why not Vash?)
Vaughn 241
Veer 138
Vinson 36
Von 42
I know Virginia could be put in the Place Name category, but I just love it so much as an "Oldie But Goodie" I had to put it there (and hope it will make a comeback soon).
Only Victoria and Violet make the US Top 100 in 2012, at #28 and #89 respectively. 17 However, 100 years ago, in 1912, Virginia (#20), Viola (#52), Vera (#68), Vincent (#72), Victor (#81), Violet (#83), Vivian (#84), Velma (#88), and Vernon (#90) all made the Top 100. In 2012, 17 other V names reached the Top 1000, while over 30 more reached it in 1912, including Verna, Virgie, Vesta, Vern, Velva, Vernice, Velda, Vina, Verla, Vester, and Vella. Note: There were over 27,000 fewer births in 1912 than in 2012. In any case, where have all the good V's gone?
What is your favorite V name?
Thanks to Behind the Name for help with the above.
Vera and Vivienne are on my own list. I do love Violet and Vienna! But, Violet would be too popular for me to use as a first name, and my friend's daughter is Vienna.
ReplyDeleteVirginia is interesting - I can definitely see that coming back! And I really want to like Vesper, as it intrigues me. For some reason it reminds me of the Roman goddess Vesta and the Vestal Virgins.
I love Violet variations, I found a bunch of pretty ones when I was writing up a post on names from The Boxcar Children. I kinda have a thing for Valentine and Valentino too. Lots of interesting choices here!
ReplyDeleteOh! The whole point of my comment was to mention another V name I like and I totally forgot! I came across a French boy name Vachel recently that I liked.
ReplyDelete