Laverne
Masculine · “the alder grove”
Laverne is given to both — 13,246 boys and 42,878 girls since 1880. See Laverne as a girl nameSee other names given to both
Laverne was given to sons as well as daughters in early twentieth-century America. It is a French phrase fused into a name — la verne, the alder grove — and it had not yet been sorted by sex.
How old is the name Laverne?
Laverne first appears in US birth records in 1885 — 140 years ago. The typical Laverne alive today was born around 1932, making them about 93 years old. About 3,200 people named Laverne are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Laverne most popular?
Laverne peaked in 1927, reaching #274 nationally. See the whole 1927 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From verne to Laverne
The story of Laverne
French place names beginning with a fused article were common in Louisiana and French-Canadian communities, and American naming took several of them up in the late nineteenth century — Laverne, Lavelle, Lamar. Verne and Vernon were rising at the same time, which reinforced the sound. Laverne was used for both sexes from the start, and masculine use peaked around 1928.
Meaningscholars disagree
the alder grove
The usual reading takes it from the French la verne, 'the alder', from a Gaulish word for that tree, which also gives the place name and surname Vernon. A competing account connects it to the Latin vernus, 'of spring'. A third points at Laverna, a minor Roman goddess, but there is no evidence the name was given for her.
How the name formed
- verne
- la verne
- Laverne
Related forms: Laverne · LaVerne · Lavern
Pronouncing Laverne
luh-VURN
Two syllables, stress on the second. Said identically for either sex.
Nicknames for Laverne
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
- 1885
- Most boys named
- 1927421 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #274reached in 1927
- Change vs 2021
- +50.0%9 in 2024, from 6
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.
Laverne in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Laverne in French — same name
- LaVerne in English — spelling variant
- Lavern in English — spelling variant
Strongest US states over the last decade: Pennsylvania.
Lavernes among us
people named Laverne 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
Laverne has already lived its whole cycle: it rose, had its era, and has stepped off the charts. The fashion question is behind it — what lies ahead is the waiting room where revivals begin, once a name's first generation has grown distant enough for it to sound fresh again.
Based on 146 years of naming cycles. How we read them
The trade-off
- The alder-grove reading is concrete and easy to picture.
- Vern is available as a plain, unambiguously masculine short form.
- The end stress gives it a distinct rhythm.
- In modern English the name reads as feminine to most people.
- Three readings of the origin are in circulation and none is decisive.
- It is firmly period-coded to the early twentieth century.
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What they receive
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Laverne
Masculine
Frequently asked
- How many Lavernes are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 3,200 people named Laverne are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Laverne in 2025?
- Laverne is rarely given in the US today — it does not rank in the top 2000 boy names.
- Will my child share the name Laverne with classmates?
- Laverne will almost certainly be the only one in school.
More L names
The most-given names starting with L, all years combined.
Larry#1084 · Lawrence#518 · Louis#249 · Logan#53 · Liam#1 · Lucas#10 · Luke#33 · Leonard#637
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Laverne? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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