Baby Names US
Unisex name ★ peaked 1919

Valentine

Meaning strong, healthy Gender Unisex · 25% girls Rank 2025 #1,807 Trend ↑ Rising 49%

From Latin Valentīnus, a patronymic from Valēns (Roman cognomen), itself nominalized from vālens (“strong, healthy”) + -īnus (“-ine”).

Rank 2025
#1,807
among boys · ↑667 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
159
named Valentine · +49% vs 2024
How common
1 in 19,192
boys born in 2025
Peak year
1919
180 babies
All-time total
8,950
#1,497 all-time among boys
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Valentine popularity over time

8,950 babies have been named Valentine since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.060.130.190.2518801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s 21 155 176 18 – #425
1890s 42 171 213 21 +21% #366
1900s 73 194 267 27 +25% #409
1910s 252 967 1,219 122 +357% #436
1920s 264 1,143 1,407 141 +15% #550
1930s 129 725 854 85 -39% #571
1940s 119 519 638 64 -25% #797
1950s 94 514 608 61 -5% #914
1960s 87 338 425 43 -30% #1,126
1970s 63 302 365 37 -14% #1,434
1980s 126 310 436 44 +19% #1,600
1990s 130 306 436 44 0% #2,045
2000s 158 272 430 43 -1% #3,167
2010s 364 391 755 76 +76% #2,260
2020s (to 2025) 317 404 721 120 +59% #1,807

Where Valentine is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 95 0.06 outside top 500
2027 101 0.06 outside top 500
2028 106 0.06 outside top 500
2029 110 0.06 outside top 500
2030 114 0.07 outside top 500

Where Valentine is most popular

Boys named Valentine per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.041 per 1,000. Strongest in California, New York, and Texas.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Valentine born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
California 61 0.067 +63%
New York 24 0.055 +36%
Texas 38 0.043 +6%
Colorado 5 0.039 -5%
Indiana 6 0.037 -8%
Arizona 6 0.037 -10%
Florida 12 0.025 -38%
New Jersey 5 0.025 -39%
Alaska – – –
Alabama – – –
Arkansas – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Georgia – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Illinois – – –
Kansas – – –
Kentucky – – –
Louisiana – – –
Massachusetts – – –
Maryland – – –
Maine – – –
Michigan – – –
Minnesota – – –
Missouri – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Carolina – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Ohio – – –
Oklahoma – – –
Oregon – – –
Pennsylvania – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Carolina – – –
South Dakota – – –
Tennessee – – –
Utah – – –
Virginia – – –
Vermont – – –
Washington – – –
Wisconsin – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Valentine

Valentine is rare for boys in the United States, ranked #1,807 in 2025 with 89 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 8,950 American babies have been named Valentine, about 75% boys and 25% girls, making it a genuinely unisex name. Its peak came in 1919, when 180 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1910s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Valentine stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Valentine?

The median living Valentine is about 33 years old; half are between 10 and 61. An estimated 4,400 people named Valentine are alive in the United States today.

median 33 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Valentine year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 70 #2,539 89 #1,807
2024 51 #3,172 56 #2,474
2023 46 #3,472 83 #1,906
2022 56 #2,993 72 #2,093
2021 49 #3,295 53 #2,520
2020 45 #3,444 51 #2,544
2019 55 #2,996 62 #2,260
2018 42 #3,669 45 #2,744
2017 35 #4,215 48 #2,634
2016 37 #4,076 41 #2,931
2015 41 #3,757 31 #3,585
2014 47 #3,418 40 #2,927
2013 32 #4,531 35 #3,182
2012 28 #5,104 25 #4,126
2011 33 #4,459 33 #3,359
2010 14 #8,671 31 #3,521
2009 25 #5,698 28 #3,822
2008 24 #5,945 36 #3,216
2007 22 #6,312 20 #4,793
2006 13 #9,251 31 #3,448
2005 14 #8,307 33 #3,167
2004 9 #11,580 30 #3,281
2003 13 #8,473 26 #3,523
2002 14 #7,802 25 #3,549
2001 15 #7,301 23 #3,715
2000 9 #10,709 20 #4,057
1995 13 #7,023 24 #3,013
1990 12 #7,285 37 #2,045
1985 14 #5,336 33 #1,832
1980 22 #3,717 31 #1,849
1975 5 #10,557 28 #1,783
1970 6 #7,956 35 #1,434
1965 18 #3,040 45 #1,126
1960 10 #4,428 41 #1,240
1955 14 #3,214 64 #941
1950 10 #3,650 57 #917
1945 5 #5,187 28 #1,268
1940 12 #2,567 50 #901
1935 14 #2,299 58 #821
1930 21 #1,808 111 #571
1925 30 #1,533 106 #611
1920 29 #1,543 123 #558
1915 30 #1,313 137 #471
1910 11 #1,511 30 #522
1905 9 #1,410 19 #547
1900 6 #1,918 15 #677
1895 7 #1,418 23 #412
1890 – – 18 #433
1885 10 #743 16 #478
1880 – – 10 #635

Famous people named Valentine

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Valentine Strasser Valentine Strasser Head of State of Sierra Leone from 1992 to 1996 b. 1967 · Contemporary
  2. 2 Valentine Telegdi Valentine Telegdi American physicist 1922–2006 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Valentine, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Valentine?

The median living Valentine is about 33 years old. Half of all living Valentines are between 10 and 61 years old.

How many people named Valentine are alive today?

An estimated 4,400 people named Valentine are alive in the United States, based on 8,950 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Valentine mean?

From Latin Valentīnus, a patronymic from Valēns (Roman cognomen), itself nominalized from vālens (“strong, healthy”) + -īnus (“-ine”).

How popular is the name Valentine in 2025?

Valentine ranked #1,807 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 89 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Valentine?

8,950 babies have been named Valentine in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Valentine most popular?

Valentine peaked in 1919, when 180 newborns received the name.

Is Valentine a boy or girl name?

Valentine is used for both: about 25% of babies named Valentine have been girls and 75% boys.

Is the name Valentine rising or falling?

Valentine is on the rise, noticeably more popular now than a decade ago.

Will Valentine become more popular?

Valentine is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 114 boys named Valentine in 2030, which would rank outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Valentine?

Well-known people named Valentine include Valentine Strasser (politician), Valentine Telegdi (physicist).

Names like Valentine

Names that sound and feel close to Valentine: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Valentine with similar names → More names starting with V →