Vernon

Where Vernon comes from

From Transalpine Gaulish uerna (“alder”) (from Proto-Celtic *wernā, from Proto-Indo-European *wern-) + -o, -onis (locative suffix, literally “place of alder trees”).
— Wiktionary's entry for Vernon
  • 2 syllables
Along the way
  1. 1880
    First SSA year
    Already #213 among boys — 56 babies in the first year on record.
  2. 1920
    Peak, #65
    3,144 babies named Vernon — more than any year before or since.
  3. 1927
    Vernon L. Smith born
    American economist
  4. 1963
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births — down to #190.
  5. 1992
    Vernon Norwood born
    American sprinter
In the dictionary
  • A male given name transferred from the surname, of 19th century and later usage.
Namesakes
  • Vernon L. Smith · American economist, born 1927
  • Vernon Norwood · American sprinter, born 1992
  • Vernon Duke · American composer, 1903–1969
  • Vernon Reid · American fusion and crossover guitarist, born 1958
  • Vernon A. Walters · United States general, 1917–2002

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.