Vearl vs Veatrice

Babies given each name, 1880–2025

Vearl Veatrice

Each line is every baby given the name that year, girls and boys added together — the only count that means the same thing for both names. A line breaks where the name fell below five babies in a year — the point at which the SSA stops publishing it — rather than being drawn through a figure nobody published. A single published year in a gap shows as a dot.

Who was ahead

Of the 64 years in which either name was published, Veatrice for 33 years and Vearl for 31 years. The lead changed hands 20 times.

• 1896–1914 Veatrice ahead
• 1918–1946 Vearl ahead, apart from 4 short spells
• 1951–1991 Veatrice ahead, apart from one short spell

13 shorter spells of a year or two are folded into the spans above rather than listed separately.

Side by side

A rank is a position within one sex’s list for one year, so the two rank rows are not subtracted from one another and the winning column is not marked on them. The living figure is a life-table estimate, not a count.

Which name is older

Half of the Vearls alive today are over 80; half the Veatrices are over 69. That is 11 years between them: two names in use at the same time, worn by two different generations.

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