Laverne

Where Laverne comes from

19th-century invention, possibly from the Californian town La Verne, named in the belief that it means "the green" in French. Laverne is a genuine French surname, from Gaulish la verne "the alder (tree place)" but - as in the case of Leroy - there is no apparent reason to turn it into an American given name.
— Wiktionary's entry for Laverne
  • Vowel-ended
Along the way
  1. 1885
    First appearance
    #842 among girls, 7 babies — the first year at least five got the name.
  2. 1905
    Laverne Harding born
    American animator
  3. 1928
    Peak, #165
    1,293 babies named Laverne — more than any year before or since.
  4. 1938
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #252.
  5. 1972
    Laverne Cox born
    American actress and LGBT advocate
  6. 2025
    Mostly girls from here
    Until now more boys than girls got the name; from this year it's the other way round, and has stayed that way.
In the dictionary
  • A female given name transferred from the surname.
Namesakes
  • Laverne Cox · American actress and LGBT advocate, born 1972
  • Laverne Harding · American animator, 1905–1984
  • LaVerne Jeanne · American linguist, born 1953
  • Laverne Nelson Black · American painter, illustrator, and sculptor, 1887–1938

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.