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 [ 4 syll. ve-ro-ni-ca, ver-on-ica ] The girl name Veronica is pronounced VerAANihKah KEY. Veronica is of Old Greek origin, and it is used mainly in the English, Italian, and Romanian languages. The name's meaning is 'bearer of victory, true image'. Biblical name derived from phero meaning 'to bear, to carry' ; nike meaning 'victory' ; verus meaning 'true' ; icon meaning 'image'. The name could be from the Latinized form of Berenike (Macedonian), which is from Pherenike (Old Greek), of the elements phero ('to bear, to carry') and nike ('victory'), or else according to folk etymology it could be from the Latin 'vera icon' meaning 'true image', formed from the Latin 'vera' and the Greek icon ('image'). The name was borne by Saint Veronica, a pious woman of Jerusalem who wiped Jesus' face on the way to the crucifixion; according to legend, which could have been invented to explain the folk etymology, the cloth was left with an imprint of Jesus' face. The name was introduced from France into Scotland in the 17th century, and it was adopted in England by the end of the 19th century. Veronica is a widely used name; it has 37 variations that are used in both English and foreign languages. Variations of the name used in English include Berenike (used in German and Greek too), Bernice, Nika (used in Russian too), Ronica, Ronnica, Verenice (used in French too), Verinica, Vernice, Veron, Veronic, Veronick, Veronika (used in Czech, German, and Scandinavian too), Veronnica, and Vronica. Other English forms include the short forms Ron and Vero, the pet forms Ranna, Roni (used in Hebrew too), Ronna, Ronni, Ronnie, Ronny, Vera (used in Czech, Dutch, German, Hungarian, Italian, Russian, Scandinavian, and Slavic too), and Vonnie, and the variant spellings Varonica and Vironica. Foreign variations of Veronica include the Czech and German Verona, the French Verone, the German Veronike, the Dutch and French Veronique, the Czech Veronka, the French Veronne, the Spanish Verónica, the Portuguese Verônica, the French Véronique, the German Vroni, and the Polish Weronikia. See also the related form, the English, German, and Italian Berenice. Veronica is an all-time favorite. Currently it is still popular as a baby name for girls, though not to the extent it was previously. The name jumped in popularity from the 1930s up to the 1970s. At the modest height of its usage in 1974, 0.270% of baby girls were given the name Veronica. It ranked at #71 then. The baby name has since experienced a decline in frequency. In 2008, it ranked at #261 with a usage of 0.064%, but it was nonetheless the most frequently used within all girl names in its group. Baby names that sound like Veronica include the Spanish Verónica, the Portuguese Verônica, the English Varonica, the English and French Verenice, the English Verinica, the English Vironica, the Russian Varenka, the English Varnessa, the Russian Verinka, the Czech, English, German, and Scandinavian Veronika, the German Veronike, the Dutch and French Veronique, the English Veronnica, the French Véronique, the English Vronica, the English Vernice, the English Veronic, the English Veronick, and the Czech Veronka. A famous person named Veronica is Model, Veronica Varekova, born 1977, Olomouc, Czechoslovakia. KEY: Pronunciation for Veronica: V as in "vee (V.IY)" ; ER as in "hurt (HH.ER.T)" ; AA as in "odd (AA.D)" ; N as in "knee (N.IY)" ; IH as in "it (IH.T)" ; K as in "key (K.IY)" ; AH as in "hut (HH.AH.T)"   |
