Virginia

Virginia is the feminine form of the Roman family name Verginius or Virginius, whose meaning is unknown but has long been linked with Latin virgo, meaning “maid” or “virgin.” A legend says it was borne by a Roman woman killed by her father to save her from a corrupt official. The name became notable in English as that of Virginia Dare, the first English baby born in the New World, at Roanoke Island in 1587; she was named for the Colony of Virginia, itself named for Elizabeth I, the Virgin Queen. Because of this association, Virginia has been more popular in America than elsewhere in the English-speaking world, though it was not widely used in either Britain or America until the 19th century. A later notable bearer was the English novelist Virginia Woolf (1882–1941).

Virginia moved from #507 to #526 for girls between 2024 and 2025. Its highest annual birth count came in 1922, with 19,144 births.