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
Truth or verity is the Property (philosophy), property of being in accord with fact or reality.Merriam-Webster's Online Dictionarytruth, 2005 In everyday language, it is typically ascribed to things that aim to represent reality or otherwise cor ...
". 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
The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...
and
Quaker
Quakers are people who belong to the Religious Society of Friends, a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations. Members refer to each other as Friends after in the Bible, and originally, others referred to them as Quakers ...
virtue name
Virtue names, also known as grace names, are used as personal names in a number of cultures. They express virtues that the parents wish their child to embody or be associated with. In the English-speaking world, beginning in the 16th century, the P ...
, truthfulness being considered as a desirable attribute especially in women, and following a new
Protestant
Protestantism is a branch of Christianity that emphasizes Justification (theology), justification of sinners Sola fide, through faith alone, the teaching that Salvation in Christianity, salvation comes by unmerited Grace in Christianity, divin ...
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.
[Surnames had been adopted by families in England centuries before the Puritan era]
First name
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Verity Crawley (born 1994), English professional bowler
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Verity Barton (born 1985), Australian (Queensland) politician
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Verity Firth
Verity Helen Firth (born 28 August 1973) is an Australian university executive and former politician. She is the Pro Vice-Chancellor (Social Justice and Inclusion) at the University of Technology Sydney. She was the chief executive officer of ...
(born 1973), Australian politician
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Verity James, Australian TV and radio presenter
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Verity Lambert
Verity Ann Lambert (27 November 1935 – 22 November 2007) was an English television and film producer.
Lambert began working in television in the 1950s. She began her career as a producer at the BBC by becoming the founding producer of t ...
(1935–2007), English television producer
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Verity Laughton (born 1952), Australian playwright
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Verity Marshall (born 1986), English actress
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Verity Rushworth (born 1985), English actress
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Verity Sharp (born 1970), English broadcast radio personality
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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
''Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince'' is a fantasy novel written by British author J. K. Rowling. It is the sixth and penultimate novel in the ''Harry Potter'' series, and takes place during Harry Potter's sixth year at the wizard scho ...
''
* Verity Poldark Blamey, recurring character in the 2015 television series ''
Poldark
''Poldark'' is a series of historical novels by Winston Graham, initially published from 1945 to 1953 and continuing from 1973 to 2002. The first novel, '' Ross Poldark'', was named for the protagonist of the series. The novel series was ada ...
''
* Verity Price, character in the ''
InCryptid'' novel series
* Verity Simone Carlo, character in the
IDW Publishing ''Transformers'' comic series
Surname
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Anthony Verity (born 1939), English educationalist and classical scholar
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Charles Verity (1814–1899), English stone mason, building contractor and mayor of Doncaster
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Charlotte Verity (born 1954), British painter
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Claude Hamilton Verity (1880–1949), English hardware merchant, engineer and inventor
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Elsie Eleanor Verity (1894–1971), "The First Lady of the motor trade"
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Fred Verity
Joshua Marland "Fred" Verity (11 April 1847 – 5 February 1897) was an English engineer, inventor, iron founder, Metalsmith, brass-founder, manufacturer and retailer of ironmongery in Leeds, West Yorkshire, England. With his brother Edwin, and ...
(1847–1897), English engineer, inventor, iron founder, brass-founder, manufacturer and retailer of ironmongery
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Hedley Verity
Hedley Verity (18 May 1905 – 31 July 1943) was a professional cricketer who played for Yorkshire County Cricket Club, Yorkshire and England national cricket team, England between 1930 and 1939. A Left-arm orthodox spin, slow left-arm orth ...
(1905–1943), English cricketer
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Hugh Verity (1918-2001), British
RAF and
SOE pilot
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Jake Verity (born 1997), American football player
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John Verity
John Verity (born 3 July 1949) is an English guitarist and singer. He is best known as a member of Argent, a band formed by Zombies keyboardist Rod Argent. He joined the band alongside John Grimaldi, replacing Russ Ballard.
Early life, fa ...
(born 1949), English guitarist
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Ruggero Verity
Ruggero Verity or Roger Verity (20 May 1883 – 4 March 1959) was an Anglo-Italy, Italian entomologist who specialised in butterflies, and was a physician.
Life
Roger Verity was born in Florence on 20 May 1883, the elder son of Richard Henry Mann ...
(1883–1959), Italian physician and entomologist
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Thomas Verity, an English architect (1837 – 1891)
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William Verity Jr. (1917–2007), American businessman and government official
;Other:
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''Verity'' (sculpture), a bronze statue made by Damien Hirst
* Verity (ship), e.g.
List of shipwrecks in 2023#October
*''
Verity'', 2018 novel by Colleen Hoover
References
{{Reflist
Virtue names