girls' name ★ peaked 1959

Valerie

Meaning From French Valérie, from Latin Valeria Gender Girl Rank 2025 #127 Trend ↑ Rising 14%

From French Valérie, from Latin Valeria.

Rank 2025
#127
among girls · ↑20 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
2,221
named Valerie · +12% vs 2024
How common
1 in 724
girls born in 2025
Peak year
1959
7,318 babies
All-time total
273,922
#145 all-time among girls
First recorded
1884
in Social Security records

Valerie popularity over time

273,922 babies have been named Valerie since 1884, 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
123418801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
GirlsBoys

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 32 – 32 3 – #797
1890s 141 – 141 14 +341% #741
1900s 259 – 259 26 +84% #565
1910s 1,314 – 1,314 131 +407% #467
1920s 1,710 – 1,710 171 +30% #500
1930s 3,960 5 3,965 397 +132% #251
1940s 13,694 29 13,723 1,372 +246% #108
1950s 52,230 116 52,346 5,235 +281% #60
1960s 56,588 151 56,739 5,674 +8% #65
1970s 33,810 153 33,963 3,396 -40% #83
1980s 34,629 161 34,790 3,479 +2% #71
1990s 22,012 39 22,051 2,205 -37% #129
2000s 21,962 39 22,001 2,200 0% #127
2010s 19,013 – 19,013 1,901 -14% #149
2020s (to 2025) 11,875 – 11,875 1,979 +4% #127

Where Valerie is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 girls (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 girls Implied rank
2026 2,278 1.42 #119
2027 2,328 1.45 #116
2028 2,371 1.48 #115
2029 2,408 1.50 #114
2030 2,440 1.52 #112

Where Valerie is most popular

Girls named Valerie per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 1.23 per 1,000. Strongest in Nevada, Rhode Island, and Florida.

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

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are girls named Valerie 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 Girls 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Nevada 130 2.80 +127%
Rhode Island 32 2.56 +107%
Florida 940 2.20 +78%
California 1,726 2.05 +67%
New Jersey 327 1.81 +47%
Connecticut 103 1.77 +44%
Nebraska 63 1.75 +42%
Minnesota 187 1.73 +41%
Illinois 382 1.67 +35%
Maryland 176 1.66 +35%
Oregon 108 1.66 +35%
Massachusetts 195 1.61 +31%
Washington 232 1.61 +30%
Indiana 223 1.59 +29%
Wisconsin 158 1.53 +25%
Texas 1,170 1.45 +18%
New York 576 1.45 +18%
Arizona 203 1.45 +17%
North Carolina 328 1.44 +17%
Virginia 237 1.39 +13%
Louisiana 119 1.36 +10%
Oklahoma 99 1.35 +9%
Kentucky 106 1.24 ≈ national
Pennsylvania 286 1.21 ≈ national
Idaho 40 1.20 ≈ national
South Carolina 106 1.18 ≈ national
Iowa 68 1.16 -6%
Ohio 274 1.15 -6%
Michigan 210 1.15 -6%
New Hampshire 21 1.14 -8%
Arkansas 59 1.12 -9%
Missouri 133 1.10 -10%
District of Columbia 13 1.10 -11%
Georgia 246 1.08 -12%
Utah 90 1.08 -12%
Colorado 119 1.07 -13%
Hawaii 12 1.05 -15%
New Mexico 25 1.03 -17%
Kansas 59 1.02 -17%
Montana 13 0.960 -22%
Alaska 8 0.929 -25%
Mississippi 41 0.876 -29%
Tennessee 137 0.865 -30%
West Virginia 21 0.801 -35%
North Dakota 10 0.761 -38%
Alabama 61 0.650 -47%
Delaware 7 0.617 -50%
South Dakota 5 0.350 -72%
Maine – – –
Vermont – – –
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 Valerie

Valerie is moderately common for girls in the United States, ranked #127 in 2025 with 2,221 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1884, 273,922 American babies have been named Valerie. Its peak came in 1959, when 7,318 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1950s.

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 Valerie stood among all girls' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Valerie?

The median living Valerie is about 50 years old; half are between 30 and 64. An estimated 246 thousand people named Valerie are alive in the United States today.

median 50 020406080100

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

Valerie 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 2,221 #127 – –
2024 1,991 #147 – –
2023 1,955 #144 – –
2022 1,986 #148 – –
2021 1,840 #155 – –
2020 1,882 #144 – –
2019 1,890 #151 – –
2018 1,802 #156 – –
2017 1,824 #167 – –
2016 1,966 #160 – –
2015 1,880 #171 – –
2014 1,886 #176 – –
2013 1,880 #169 – –
2012 1,863 #169 – –
2011 1,957 #159 – –
2010 2,065 #149 – –
2009 2,321 #138 – –
2008 2,505 #135 – –
2007 2,424 #144 – –
2006 2,752 #127 – –
2005 2,035 #167 6 #11,392
2004 1,905 #180 7 #9,888
2003 1,914 #171 5 #12,666
2002 2,107 #155 9 #7,602
2001 1,982 #165 6 #10,484
2000 2,017 #166 6 #10,293
1995 2,183 #149 6 #8,815
1990 2,428 #129 17 #3,594
1985 3,881 #71 17 #2,938
1980 3,613 #85 26 #2,109
1975 3,227 #92 12 #3,232
1970 4,130 #97 13 #2,732
1965 5,648 #67 18 #1,916
1960 6,717 #65 15 #2,201
1955 5,512 #80 11 #2,544
1950 3,026 #116 9 #2,760
1945 1,079 #189 – –
1940 799 #214 8 #2,853
1935 486 #276 – –
1930 222 #452 – –
1925 151 #588 – –
1920 170 #546 – –
1915 171 #473 – –
1910 45 #637 – –
1905 25 #730 – –
1900 21 #830 – –
1895 19 #743 – –
1890 12 #822 – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Valerie

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

  1. 1 Valerie Bertinelli Valerie Bertinelli American actress (born 1960) Contemporary
  2. 2 Valerie Perrine Valerie Perrine American actress (1943–2026) Contemporary
  3. 3 Valerie Harper Valerie Harper American actress (1939–2019) Contemporary
  4. 4 Valerie Solanas Valerie Solanas American radical feminist (1936–1988) Contemporary
  5. 5 Valerie Jarrett Valerie Jarrett American businesswoman and former government official (born 1956) Contemporary
  6. 6 Valerie Mahaffey Valerie Mahaffey American actress (1953–2025) Contemporary
  7. 7 Valerie Plame Valerie Plame American writer, spy novelist and former CIA officer (born 1963) Contemporary
  8. 8 Valerie Hobson Valerie Hobson British actress (1917–1998) Contemporary
  9. 9 Valerie Adams Valerie Adams New Zealand shot putter (born 1984) Contemporary
  10. 10 Valerie Brisco-Hooks Valerie Brisco-Hooks American sprinter (born 1960) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Valerie?

The median living Valerie is about 50 years old. Half of all living Valeries are between 30 and 64 years old.

How many people named Valerie are alive today?

An estimated 246 thousand people named Valerie are alive in the United States, based on 273,922 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Valerie mean?

From French Valérie, from Latin Valeria.

How popular is the name Valerie in 2025?

Valerie ranked #127 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 2,221 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Valerie?

273,922 babies have been named Valerie in the United States since 1884, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Valerie most popular?

Valerie peaked in 1959, when 7,318 newborns received the name.

Is Valerie a boy or girl name?

Valerie is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 100% of babies with the name.

Is the name Valerie rising or falling?

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

Will Valerie become more popular?

Valerie is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 2,440 girls named Valerie in 2030, which would rank around #112. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Valerie?

Well-known people named Valerie include Valerie Bertinelli (actor), Valerie Perrine (actor), Valerie Harper (actor).

Names like Valerie

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

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