Vera

The Latin verus also produced Vera as an independent Romance feminine adjective meaning true.

Saint Veronica, the woman who according to tradition wiped the face of Christ on the road to Calvary, bears a name often interpreted as a compound of Latin vera and Greek eikon (image), yielding true image, though this etymology is likely a folk

derivation of the Greek name Berenice.

In Russian literature, Vera appears as a central character in Mikhail Lermontov’s novel A Hero of the Time (1840) and in several works by Ivan Turgenev, establishing the name as emblematic of 19th century Russian feminine ideals.

The name spread across Europe during the late 19th century, carried partly by émigrés and partly by literary admiration for Russian fiction.

According to U.S. Social Security Administration records, Vera entered the top 100 around 1900, peaked near number 60 in 1910, then declined steadily and fell out of the top 1000 by 1983.

It returned in 2009 and has climbed rapidly into the top 300, part of the broader revival of short vintage European names alongside Ada, Ida, and Eva. The name also holds strong currency in Russia, Serbia, Bulgaria, Netherlands, and across Scandinavia.

Notable bearers include Russian-American author Vera Nabokov (1902-1991), wife and creative collaborator of Vladimir Nabokov, and British wartime singer Dame Vera Lynn (1917-2020), famous for Researchers’ll Meet Again.