| Vera | Danica | |
|---|---|---|
| Meaning | Faith; true | Morning star |
| Origin | Slavic | slavic |
| Gender | Girl | Girl |
| Pronunciation | VEER-uh | DAH-nee-kah |
| Syllables | 2 | 3 |
| First appeared | 1880 | 1916 |
| Peak year | 1918 (3,923) | 2007 (1,109) |
| In 2025 | 1,482 | 127 |
| Trend | Rising | Declining |
Source: US Social Security Administration.
| Decade | Vera | Danica |
|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 8,040 | 1,019 |
| 2010s | 9,052 | 4,591 |
| 2000s | 1,612 | 5,244 |
| 1990s | 869 | 2,382 |
| 1980s | 1,311 | 1,893 |
| 1970s | 2,258 | 1,051 |
| 1960s | 6,032 | 290 |
| 1950s | 11,041 | 42 |
| 1940s | 12,189 | 0 |
| 1930s | 18,023 | 0 |
| 1920s | 32,541 | 0 |
| 1910s | 28,289 | 10 |
| 1900s | 10,457 | 0 |
| 1890s | 6,377 | 0 |
| 1880s | 1,365 | 0 |
From the Slavic, “faith,” and echoing the Latin verus, “true.”
A South Slavic name meaning 'morning star', the personification of the planet Venus at dawn in Slavic folklore. The root is debated between a word for 'day/dawn' and related forms, but the 'morning star' sense is consistent across sources.
Vera is more popular than Danica today: about 1,482 US babies were given the name Vera in 2025, compared with 127 named Danica.
Vera means Faith; true (Slavic origin), while Danica means Morning star (slavic origin).
In US records, Vera first appears in 1880 and Danica in 1916, so Vera has the longer recorded history.