diff --git a/CHANGELOG.rst b/CHANGELOG.rst
index e3b9a7e..5f8a8e0 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.rst
+++ b/CHANGELOG.rst
@@ -14,6 +14,11 @@ Change Log
 Unreleased
 ~~~~~~~~~~
 
+[2.1.0] - 2022-01-11
+~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
+* Add optional `statuses_to_exclude` argument to `get_verified_name` in order to filter out one or
+  more statuses from the result.
+
 [2.0.3] - 2021-11-17
 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 * Remove unused celery tasks
diff --git a/edx_name_affirmation/__init__.py b/edx_name_affirmation/__init__.py
index 1cf9f02..5ae1f29 100644
--- a/edx_name_affirmation/__init__.py
+++ b/edx_name_affirmation/__init__.py
@@ -2,6 +2,6 @@
 Django app housing name affirmation logic.
 """
 
-__version__ = '2.0.3'
+__version__ = '2.1.0'
 
 default_app_config = 'edx_name_affirmation.apps.EdxNameAffirmationConfig'  # pylint: disable=invalid-name
diff --git a/edx_name_affirmation/api.py b/edx_name_affirmation/api.py
index 9590da8..a143b3d 100644
--- a/edx_name_affirmation/api.py
+++ b/edx_name_affirmation/api.py
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ def create_verified_name(
     log.info(log_msg)
 
 
-def get_verified_name(user, is_verified=False):
+def get_verified_name(user, is_verified=False, statuses_to_exclude=None):
     """
     Get the most recent VerifiedName for a given user.
 
@@ -84,6 +84,8 @@ def get_verified_name(user, is_verified=False):
         * `user` (User object)
         * `is_verified` (bool): Optional, set to True to ignore entries that are not
           verified.
+        * `statuses_to_exclude` (list): Optional list of statuses to filter out. Only
+          relevant if `is_verified` is False.
 
     Returns a VerifiedName object.
     """
@@ -92,6 +94,9 @@ def get_verified_name(user, is_verified=False):
     if is_verified:
         return verified_name_qs.filter(status=VerifiedNameStatus.APPROVED.value).first()
 
+    if statuses_to_exclude:
+        return verified_name_qs.exclude(status__in=statuses_to_exclude).first()
+
     return verified_name_qs.first()
 
 
diff --git a/edx_name_affirmation/tests/test_api.py b/edx_name_affirmation/tests/test_api.py
index 4a0437c..2b4094b 100644
--- a/edx_name_affirmation/tests/test_api.py
+++ b/edx_name_affirmation/tests/test_api.py
@@ -157,6 +157,38 @@ def test_get_verified_name_none_exist(self, check_is_verified):
 
         self.assertIsNone(verified_name_obj)
 
+    @ddt.data(
+        ([VerifiedNameStatus.PENDING], VerifiedNameStatus.DENIED),
+        ([VerifiedNameStatus.DENIED, VerifiedNameStatus.PENDING], VerifiedNameStatus.APPROVED),
+        (['invalid status'], VerifiedNameStatus.PENDING)
+    )
+    @ddt.unpack
+    def test_get_verified_name_exclude(self, statuses_to_exclude, expected_status):
+        """
+        Exclude verified names by status when getting the most recent verified name.
+        """
+        self._create_verified_name(status=VerifiedNameStatus.APPROVED)
+        self._create_verified_name(status=VerifiedNameStatus.DENIED)
+        self._create_verified_name(status=VerifiedNameStatus.PENDING)
+
+        verified_name_obj = get_verified_name(self.user, False, statuses_to_exclude)
+
+        self.assertEqual(verified_name_obj.status, expected_status)
+
+    @ddt.data(False, True)
+    def test_get_verified_name_ignore_exlude_parameter(self, is_verified):
+        """
+        If `is_verified` is True, ignore the `statuses_to_exclude` parameter.
+        """
+        self._create_verified_name(status=VerifiedNameStatus.APPROVED)
+
+        verified_name_obj = get_verified_name(self.user, is_verified, [VerifiedNameStatus.APPROVED])
+
+        if is_verified:
+            self.assertEqual(verified_name_obj.verified_name, self.VERIFIED_NAME)
+        else:
+            self.assertIsNone(verified_name_obj)
+
     def test_get_verified_name_history(self):
         """
         Test that get_verified_name_history returns all of the user's VerifiedNames