girl's name
Valerie
VAL-uh-ree
- Origin Latin
- Gender Girl
- Syllables 3
- Letters 7
- Popularity Top 1000 (US)
- Births on record 540,567
the United States
#127
2025 births
Valerie is a girl's name of Latin origin meaning "strong" or "healthy," from the verb valere, meaning to be strong or to be well. The same root gives English valid, value, valour and convalesce, and the Roman farewell vale.
- Valerie is a name of Latin origin.
- Peaked in 1959, when 7,318 babies were given the name.
- Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
- Today about 1 in 1,493 babies in the United States is given this name.
- First appears in US birth records in 1884.
- 3 syllables, with the stress on syllable 1.
Valerie over time
Births per decade in the United States, 1880s to 2020s. The striped bar is the 2020s, still in progress — it covers 2020 to 2025, not a full ten years.
Show the numbers
| Decade | Births |
|---|---|
| 1880s | 32 |
| 1890s | 141 |
| 1900s | 259 |
| 1910s | 1,314 |
| 1920s | 1,710 |
| 1930s | 3,965 |
| 1940s | 13,723 |
| 1950s | 52,346 |
| 1960s | 56,739 |
| 1970s | 33,963 |
| 1980s | 34,790 |
| 1990s | 22,051 |
| 2000s | 22,001 |
| 2010s | 19,013 |
| 2020s (to 2025) | 11,875 |
What Valerie means
Valerie means to be strong or in good health, from the Latin valere. It belongs to the Roman family name Valerius, so it began as a clan name built on that verb rather than a description of an individual.
Where Valerie comes from
Valerie comes through the French Valérie from the Latin Valeria, feminine of the Roman family name Valerius, from valere, meaning to be strong or well. The Valerii were among the oldest patrician families of Rome. The verb left a wide trail in English — valid, value, valour, prevail, convalesce, and the farewell vale, meaning be well. The name spread through Christian Europe via Saint Valeria and became especially common in France and Russia before reaching English-speaking countries, where it peaked in the mid-twentieth century.
How popular is Valerie?
In 2025, Valerie was given to 2,221 babies in the United States, ranking #127 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Where Valerie is used
US figures omit any name given to fewer than five babies in a year, so the rarest names are absent from the source rather than absent from use. Data & sources.
How Valerie is spelled
Birth registers count each spelling separately, so every one has its own ranking.
| Spelling | What it is | Births on record |
|---|---|---|
| Valérie | Valérie is a rare spelling of Valerie, written with an acute accent and recorded about 253,235 times, mostly in France. | 253,235 |
Names that peaked alongside Valerie
These names rose and fell in the same era, which is why they tend to sound like they belong together.
Parents who like Valerie also like
Names whose popularity has risen and fallen in step with Valerie over the last century — the same taste, a different name.
1 nickname for Valerie
Each one is a name in its own right — the figure underneath is how it is doing today, so you can see which short forms are rising and which have faded.
Valerie in other languages
The same name as it is spelled elsewhere — not shortenings, and not different names that merely sound alike. Each one has its own record here.
Sibling names for Valerie
Names from the same era that won't rhyme or share an initial with Valerie — the two things that make a sibling set grate.
Common questions about Valerie
What does the name Valerie mean?
Valerie means "strong" or "healthy," from the Latin valere.
Is Valerie related to Valentina?
Both come from Latin roots concerning strength, though from different words — valere and valens.
What are nicknames for Valerie?
Val is the standard short form.
How popular is the name Valerie?
In 2025, Valerie was given to 2,221 babies in the United States, ranking #127 that year. It is a well-established, commonly used name.
Is Valerie a girl's or a boy's name?
Valerie is given almost entirely to girls in birth records.
How many syllables are in Valerie?
Valerie has 3 syllables.
When was Valerie most popular?
Valerie peaked in 1959, when 7,318 babies were given the name. Its usage has held steady over the past decade.
Is Valerie a good name?
That is not something records can settle, but they can tell you what you would be choosing. Valerie currently ranks #127 in the United States. Its usage has held steady over the past decade. Everything else — how it sounds with your surname, who it reminds you of — is yours.