Verity Explained

Verity (alias Veretie, Verety, Verita, Veritie, etc.) is a female first name and a surname. As a first name it derives from the Latin feminine noun veritas, meaning "truth". It is thus an equivalent of Alethea, a female first name first used in England circa 1585, derived from the ancient and modern Greek feminine noun αλήθεια (pronounced "al-ee-thia"), meaning "truth". It was adopted in England as a Puritan^[1] and Quaker virtue name, truthfulness being considered as a desirable attribute especially in women, and following a new Protestant tradition of naming children after virtues instead of saints in order to avoid idolatry.

Verity is also a surname, which may have more ancient unrelated origins, possibly being a corruption of a similar word.^[2]

First name

• Verity Crawley (born 1994), English professional bowler
• Verity Barton (born 1985), Australian (Queensland) politician
• Verity Firth (born 1973), Australian politician
• Verity James, Australian TV and radio presenter
• Verity Lambert (1935–2007), English television producer
• Verity Laughton (born 1952), Australian playwright
• Verity Marshall (born 1986), English actress
• Verity Rushworth (born 1985), English actress
• Verity Sharp (born 1970), English broadcast radio personality
• Verity Snook-Larby (born 1970), English race walker

Fictional characters

• Verity, the assistant of Fred and George Weasley in Weasleys’ Wizard Wheezes in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince
• Verity Poldark Blamey, recurring character in the 2015 television series Poldark
• Verity Price, character in the InCryptid novel series
• Verity Simone Carlo, character in the IDW Publishing Transformers comic series

Surname

• Anthony Verity (born 1939), English educationalist and classical scholar
• Charlotte Verity (born 1954), British painter
• Elsie Eleanor Verity (1894–1971), "The First Lady of the motor trade"
• Hedley Verity (1905–1943), English cricketer
• Hugh Verity (1918-2001), British RAF and SOE pilot
• Jake Verity (born 1997), American football player
• John Verity (born 1949), English guitarist
• Ruggero Verity (1883–1959), Italian physician and entomologist
• William Verity Jr. (1917–2007), American businessman and government official

Other:

• Verity (sculpture), a bronze statue made by Damien Hirst
• Verity (ship), e.g. List of shipwrecks in 2023#October

Notes and References

1. Book: Hanks. Patrick. Hardcastle. Kate . Hodges. Flavia. 2006. Oxford Dictionary of First Names. Oxford University Press . 270 . 0-19-861060-2 .
2. Surnames had been adopted by families in England centuries before the Puritan era