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
Vernon through the years
  1. 1880
    First SSA year
    Already #213 among boys, with 56 babies in the first year on record.
  2. 1920
    Peak, #65
    3,144 babies named Vernon, the most in any year.
  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.