Vera

Girl · Russian, translating Greek

Vera

Say it: VYEH-rah

Try it with your surname

Meaning

Russian vera 'faith', a translation of the Greek saint's name Pistis.

Certainscholars agree on this meaning.

From the martyr sisters Faith, Hope and Love, it was very popular in Russia in the 19th and early 20th centuries.

Its wave through time

A revival, back after decades away

In the United States

143,003 babies given this name since 1880
At its height in 1899, about 1 in 270 girls
1,207 babies in 2020

Through the ages

Used by

Russian Bulgarian Serbian Croatian Czech

The family of the name

Other spellings: Вера

Polish	Wiera
Czech	Věra
Serbian	Vera
Bulgarian	Vera
Ukrainian	Vira

Famous bearers

Věra Čáslavská, Czech gymnast
Vera Zasulich, Russian revolutionary

Names worth a look

LydiaGirlGreek, 'woman from Lydia', a region of western Asia Minor.Biblical · peak 1890

NataliaGirlFrom natalis 'of birth, birthday', especially dies natalis Domini 'Christmas Day'.Rome · peak 2020

OlgaGirlFrom Old Norse Helga, from heilagr 'holy, sacred', brought by the Varangian rulers of Kievan Rus.Early Medieval · peak 1897

AnastasiaGirlGreek anastasis, 'resurrection'.Early Medieval · peak 2019

MarinaGirlFrom the Roman name Marinus, probably a derivative of the family name Marius; it was early associated with Latin…Rome · peak 1994

HelenaGirlGreek Helenē, of uncertain origin; a link to words for 'torch' or 'light' is often claimed but unproven.Greece · peak 1899

FrankBoyShort form of Francis, from Latin Franciscus 'Frankish'.Victorian · peak 1880

VirginiaGirlFrom the Roman family name Verginius, of uncertain origin, though long associated with Latin virgo 'maiden'.Rome · peak 1922

Where this comes from

Lives of the saints and early Christian martyrologies
Calendars of saints and name days
National birth statistics of European countries source
United States Social Security birth records, 1880 to today source

Meanings and histories are compiled from the study of names and their languages and checked by a second review.

Meanings and histories are drawn from the study of names and their languages, each with a confidence rating; popularity figures come from official birth records. Name histories are a living field: if you know of a correction, we would be glad to hear it.