VERA WHITE

(Russian) name, meaning ‘faith’. It coincides in form with the feminine form of the Latin adjective verus ‘true’. It was introduced to Britain at the beginning of the 20th century and was popular in the early decades, notably borne by the singer Vera Lynn, ‘The Forces Sweetheart’ (b. 1917 as Vera Welch), but has since gone out of fashion.

English, Scottish, and Irish: from Middle English whit ‘white’, hence a nickname for someone with white hair or an unnaturally pale complexion. In some cases it represents a Middle English personal name, from an Old English byname, Hwīt(a), of this origin. As a Scottish and Irish surname it has been widely used as a translation of the many Gaelic names based on bán ‘white’ (see Bain 1) or fionn ‘fair’ (see Finn 1). There has also been some confusion with Wight.