Alverna
Feminine
La Verna is a mountain in Tuscany given to Francis of Assisi by a nobleman who had heard him preach. It is where he is said to have received the stigmata, two years before he died, alone in a hut on a rock — and the name of the mountain has been a woman's name in Italian and American use ever since.
How old is the name Alverna?
Alverna first appears in US birth records in 1891 — 134 years ago. The typical Alverna alive today was born around 1925, making them about 100 years old. About 200 people named Alverna are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Alverna most popular?
Alverna peaked in 1897, reaching #1037 nationally. See the whole 1897 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From a Tuscan mountain probably named for its alders to Alverna
The story of Alverna
The mountain was given to him because a count had been impressed by a sermon, which is a very medieval transaction. Francis went there repeatedly, and the account of the stigmata places him on the rock in September, fasting, after a vision of a winged figure. What is unusual about the episode historically is that it is described by people who knew him and examined him, which is not true of most such stories, and that his own reaction was to hide his hands for the rest of his life.
Meaningnot established
Not established
The place name is probably from a Latin word for an alder, like a good many Tuscan names, and the woman's name may come from it, from Alvernia, or from Alberta and Verna crossed. All three were live options in the 1890s. The record shows the name in use across the American Midwest and South and gives no indication which.
How the name formed
- a Tuscan mountain probably named for its alders
- given to Francis of Assisi in the 1200s
- the site of the stigmata story
- the place name used as a woman's name
- Alverna appears in American records in the 1890s
Related forms: Alvernia · Averna
Pronouncing Alverna
al-VUR-nuh
Three syllables with the weight in the middle. Italian gives the r more work and the vowels a purer sound.
Nicknames for Alverna
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1891
- Most girls named
- 192644 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1037reached in 1897
- Change vs 1964
- +60.0%8 in 1970, from 5
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Alverna in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Alvernia in Italian — related form
- Averna in English — spelling variant
Alvernas among us
people named Alverna are estimated to be alive in the US today
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
Questions parents actually ask
Fashion outlook
Alverna sits outside the current charts, and that is its own kind of answer: naming cycles can only date the names they carried up. A name this rare has no decade stamped on it — it cannot go out of fashion, because it was never in.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- Verna is available inside it and is a complete name in its own right.
- It is read correctly at sight and holds no surprises.
- It has a real place behind it with a genuinely famous story.
- There is no settled origin and three candidates.
- It will be heard as Alberta, Averna and Laverne by turns.
- It belongs to the oldest layer of the American record.
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Alverna
Feminine
Frequently asked
- How many Alvernas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 200 people named Alverna are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Alverna in 2025?
- Alverna is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 girl names.
- Will my child share the name Alverna with classmates?
- Alverna will almost certainly be the only one in school.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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