How Many People Are Named Velma?
An estimated 16,701 people in the United States have the first name Velma. It is predominantly female (99.5%). The average bearer is 73 years old, and Velma peaked in popularity in 1921 with 2,613 births that year.
Below you will find a full statistical profile of Velma as a first name in the United States, including gender data, a year-by-year popularity timeline going back to 1880, a decade breakdown, and state-by-state birth registrations. You can also check how many people share the full name Velma paired with any surname.
Key Insights
- While Velma is overwhelmingly female, 450 male births have been registered with this name since 1880.
- With an average bearer age of 73, Velma is a vintage name most associated with earlier generations. Most living bearers were born before 1963.
- Velma has fallen dramatically from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are less than 5% of what they were at the name's height.
Estimated Living Americans
16,701
About 1 in 20,523 people in the U.S.
Rarity
Uncommon
Predicted Gender
Female
99.5% confidence
Average Age
73
years old
Peak Year
1921
2,613 births
Total Registered
87,181
since 1880
Gender Distribution for Velma
Velma is almost exclusively a female name. Out of 87,181 total births registered, 99.5% were female.
Velma as a male name
Ranked #2,749 in 1955
10 male births in 1955
Peak: 1932 (23 births)
Velma as a female name
Ranked #8,369 in 2024
13 female births in 2024
Peak: 1921 (2,606 births)
Velma: Popularity Over Time
SSA records for Velma span from the 1880s to the 2020s, covering 15 decades of naming data. The most popular decade for this name was the 1920s, when 23,020 babies were registered. Velma has declined significantly from its peak in the 1920s. Recent registrations are a fraction of what they were at the name's height.
Velma by Decade
How has Velma tracked across different eras? The table below groups all SSA birth registrations into 10-year periods, with separate male and female counts. The colored bar shows each decade's share relative to the peak.
| Decade | Total | Male | Female | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 358 | 0 | 358 | |
| 1890s | 2,099 | 0 | 2,099 | |
| 1900s | 6,589 | 31 | 6,558 | |
| 1910s | 18,743 | 112 | 18,631 | |
| 1920s | 23,020 | 145 | 22,875 | |
| 1930s | 14,359 | 109 | 14,250 | |
| 1940s | 9,310 | 38 | 9,272 | |
| 1950s | 6,876 | 15 | 6,861 | |
| 1960s | 3,696 | 0 | 3,696 | |
| 1970s | 1,134 | 0 | 1,134 | |
| 1980s | 512 | 0 | 512 | |
| 1990s | 191 | 0 | 191 | |
| 2000s | 97 | 0 | 97 | |
| 2010s | 107 | 0 | 107 | |
| 2020s | 90 | 0 | 90 | |
Velma by State
Birth registrations for Velma span all 48 states and territories in the SSA database. The highest counts are in Texas, Oklahoma, Mississippi. The lowest are in Rhode Island, Connecticut, New Hampshire. On average, about 1,559 Velmas were registered per state.
Velma + Last Name Combinations
How many people share a full name with Velma as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Names Similar to Velma
Other first names starting with V with a similar number of bearers.
Velma: Questions and Answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Velma?
We estimate approximately 16,701 people named Velma are alive in the United States today. This is based on SSA birth records from 1880 to 2024, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables. About 1 in 20,523 Americans share this first name.
Is Velma a common name?
Velma is classified as "Uncommon" and is more popular than 98.3% of all first names in the SSA database. A total of 87,181 births have been registered with this name since 1880.
When was Velma most popular?
Velma reached peak popularity in 1921, when 2,613 babies were given this name. The average age of a living person named Velma is approximately 73 years old, reflecting when the name was most commonly given.
Is Velma a female name?
Velma is predominantly female. 99.5% of people with this name are female. See the gender breakdown above for full details.
How many Velma Smiths are there?
To find how many people share a specific full name, we combine first name and surname frequencies. Try: Velma Smith, Velma Johnson, Velma Williams. You can also search any combination on our homepage.
Where does this data come from?
Our estimates use Social Security Administration birth records (1880 to 2024), adjusted for survival using CDC 2023 life tables broken down by sex. The U.S. population figure (342,754,338) is from the Census Bureau's July 2025 estimate. Full methodology.
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