# Valerie (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/valerie/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | French |
| Meaning | not recorded |
| Pronunciation | /ˈvæləɹi/, 3 syllables |
| Nicknames | Val |
| Variant spellings | Valery, Valarie |
| US babies named this | 273,922 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 693 / 273,229 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 787, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From French Valérie, from Latin Valeria. Doublet of Valeria.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 1,957 | 159 |
| 2012 | 1,863 | 169 |
| 2013 | 1,880 | 169 |
| 2014 | 1,886 | 176 |
| 2015 | 1,880 | 171 |
| 2016 | 1,966 | 160 |
| 2017 | 1,824 | 167 |
| 2018 | 1,802 | 156 |
| 2019 | 1,890 | 151 |
| 2020 | 1,882 | 144 |
| 2021 | 1,840 | 155 |
| 2022 | 1,986 | 148 |
| 2023 | 1,955 | 144 |
| 2024 | 1,991 | 147 |
| 2025 | 2,221 | 127 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1985 | 17 | 2,938 |
| 1986 | 18 | 2,882 |
| 1987 | 13 | 3,715 |
| 1988 | 9 | 5,188 |
| 1989 | 12 | 4,511 |
| 1990 | 17 | 3,594 |
| 1991 | 9 | 5,914 |
| 1993 | 7 | 7,591 |
| 1995 | 6 | 8,815 |
| 2000 | 6 | 10,293 |
| 2001 | 6 | 10,484 |
| 2002 | 9 | 7,602 |
| 2003 | 5 | 12,666 |
| 2004 | 7 | 9,888 |
| 2005 | 6 | 11,392 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 23 | 1,327 |
| 2012 | 30 | 1,130 |
| 2013 | 23 | 1,400 |
| 2014 | 27 | 1,234 |
| 2015 | 33 | 1,057 |
| 2016 | 43 | 861 |
| 2017 | 24 | 1,371 |
| 2018 | 39 | 936 |
| 2019 | 25 | 1,292 |
| 2020 | 32 | 1,044 |
| 2021 | 33 | 1,039 |
| 2022 | 30 | 1,120 |
| 2023 | 43 | 832 |
| 2024 | 60 | 647 |
| 2025 | 54 | 684 |

## In other languages

- Arabic: فَالِيرِي
- Armenian: Վալերի
- Bulgarian: Вале́рия
- Catalan: Valèria
- Chinese: 瓦莱丽
- Czech: Valérie
- French: Valérie
- Georgian: ვალერი
- German: Valerie
- Hindi: वैलेरी
- Italian: Valeria
- Japanese: ヴァレリー, バレリー
- Korean: 발레리
- Latvian: Valerija
- Polish: Waleria
- Portuguese: Valéria
- Russian: Вале́рия
- Spanish: Valeria
- Ukrainian: Вале́рія

## People named Valerie

- Valerie Solanas, American radical feminist and author (1936-1988)
- Valérie Trierweiler, French journalist
- Valérie Pécresse, French politician (born 1967)
- Valérie Lemercier, French actress, comedian, singer, film director and screenwriter
- Valerie Perrine, American actress (1943-2026)
- Archduchess Marie Valerie of Austria, Austrian archduchess (1868-1924)
- Valerie Harper, American actress (1939-2019)
- Valerie Bertinelli, American actress (born 1960)
- Valérie Benguigui, French actress of stage and screen (1961–2013)
- Valerie Mahaffey, American actress (1953–2025)
- Valerie Jarrett, American businesswoman and a former government official
- Valerie Brisco-Hooks, American athletics competitor (born 1960)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.