Baby Names US
girls' name ★ peaked 2006

Valery

Meaning From French Valéry, from Latin Valerius Gender Girl · 1% boys Rank 2025 #744 Trend ↑ Rising 27%

From French Valéry, from Latin Valerius.

Rank 2025
#744
among girls · ↑42 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
371
named Valery · +2% vs 2024
How common
1 in 4,391
girls born in 2025
Peak year
2006
395 babies
All-time total
8,932
#1,816 all-time among girls
First recorded
1914
in Social Security records

Valery popularity over time

8,932 babies have been named Valery since 1914, 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
0.060.130.190.2518801900192019401960198020002020GirlsBoys
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 – – – – – –
1890s – – – – – –
1900s – – – – – –
1910s – 6 6 1 – –
1920s 35 – 35 4 +483% #3,842
1930s 51 17 68 7 +94% #2,922
1940s 122 5 127 13 +87% #1,878
1950s 391 29 420 42 +231% #1,434
1960s 435 5 440 44 +5% #1,611
1970s 278 8 286 29 -35% #2,239
1980s 279 22 301 30 +5% #2,593
1990s 616 – 616 62 +105% #1,572
2000s 2,263 – 2,263 226 +267% #716
2010s 2,349 5 2,354 235 +4% #882
2020s (to 2025) 2,006 10 2,016 336 +43% #744

Where Valery 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 382 0.24 outside top 500
2027 396 0.25 outside top 500
2028 409 0.25 outside top 500
2029 420 0.26 outside top 500
2030 429 0.27 outside top 500

Where Valery is most popular

Girls named Valery per 1,000 girls born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.211 per 1,000. Strongest in Maryland, New Jersey, 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 Valery 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
Maryland 66 0.623 +195%
New Jersey 98 0.543 +157%
Florida 200 0.467 +121%
Rhode Island 5 0.399 +89%
Virginia 67 0.393 +86%
Texas 283 0.352 +66%
Louisiana 29 0.331 +57%
New York 127 0.321 +52%
Colorado 31 0.278 +31%
North Carolina 63 0.277 +31%
Tennessee 42 0.265 +25%
California 207 0.246 +16%
Massachusetts 27 0.223 +6%
South Carolina 18 0.200 -5%
Arizona 28 0.200 -6%
Georgia 42 0.185 -13%
Kentucky 14 0.164 -23%
Illinois 37 0.162 -24%
Connecticut 8 0.138 -35%
Indiana 19 0.135 -36%
Wisconsin 12 0.117 -45%
Pennsylvania 27 0.114 -46%
Ohio 22 0.093 -56%
Michigan 8 0.044 -79%
Washington 5 0.035 -84%
Alaska – – –
Alabama – – –
Arkansas – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Kansas – – –
Maine – – –
Minnesota – – –
Missouri – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Mexico – – –
Nevada – – –
Oklahoma – – –
Oregon – – –
South Dakota – – –
Utah – – –
Vermont – – –
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 Valery

Valery is uncommon for girls in the United States, ranked #744 in 2025 with 366 babies given the name. It is currently rising compared with a decade ago.

Since 1914, 8,932 American babies have been named Valery. Its peak came in 2006, when 395 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 2000s.

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

How old are people named Valery?

The median living Valery is about 15 years old; half are between 6 and 24. An estimated 8,600 people named Valery are alive in the United States today.

median 15 020406080100

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

Valery 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 366 #744 5 #13,752
2024 359 #786 5 #14,111
2023 335 #824 – –
2022 352 #803 – –
2021 303 #895 – –
2020 291 #905 – –
2019 306 #882 – –
2018 264 #993 – –
2017 234 #1,086 – –
2016 241 #1,081 5 #14,058
2015 206 #1,212 – –
2014 191 #1,266 – –
2013 232 #1,070 – –
2012 207 #1,195 – –
2011 224 #1,104 – –
2010 244 #1,026 – –
2009 266 #997 – –
2008 312 #892 – –
2007 343 #837 – –
2006 395 #716 – –
2005 251 #978 – –
2004 175 #1,248 – –
2003 144 #1,389 – –
2002 136 #1,416 – –
2001 126 #1,498 – –
2000 115 #1,557 – –
1995 63 #2,152 – –
1990 35 #3,222 – –
1985 24 #3,616 – –
1980 17 #4,510 – –
1975 34 #2,408 – –
1970 36 #2,239 – –
1965 43 #1,740 – –
1960 49 #1,616 – –
1955 42 #1,596 6 #3,862
1950 23 #2,050 5 #4,163
1945 10 #3,116 – –
1940 5 #4,980 – –
1935 5 #4,841 – –
1930 6 #4,515 – –
1925 5 #5,711 – –
1920 6 #4,928 – –
1915 – – – –
1910 – – – –
1905 – – – –
1900 – – – –
1895 – – – –
1890 – – – –
1885 – – – –
1880 – – – –

Famous people named Valery

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

  1. 1 Valery Legasov Valery Legasov Former Soviet inorganic chemist and member of the USSR Academy of Sciences (1936–1988) Contemporary
  2. 2 Valery Gerasimov Valery Gerasimov Russian general (born 1955) Contemporary
  3. 3 Valery Gergiev Valery Gergiev Russian conductor (born 1953) Contemporary
  4. 4 Valery Meladze Valery Meladze Russian singer (born 1965) Contemporary
  5. 5 Valery Leontiev Valery Leontiev Russian singer and actor (born 1949) Contemporary
  6. 6 Valery Chkalov Valery Chkalov Soviet test pilot (1904–1938) Contemporary
  7. 7 Valery Bykovsky Valery Bykovsky Soviet cosmonaut (1934–2019) Contemporary
  8. 8 Valery Bryusov Valery Bryusov Russian poet (1873–1924) 19th century
  9. 9 Valery Nepomnyashchy Valery Nepomnyashchy Russian footballer and manager b. 1943 · Contemporary
  10. 10 Valery Gazzaev Valery Gazzaev Russian footballer and manager b. 1954 · Contemporary
  11. 11 Valery Larbaud Valery Larbaud French writer and poet (1881-1957) 19th century
  12. 12 Valery Ryumin Valery Ryumin Soviet and Russian cosmonaut (1939–2022) Contemporary
  13. 13 Valery Salov Valery Salov Russian chess grandmaster (born 1964) Contemporary
  14. 14 Valery Rozhdestvensky Valery Rozhdestvensky Soviet cosmonaut (1939–2011) Contemporary
  15. 15 Valery Korzun Valery Korzun Russian cosmonaut (born 1953) Contemporary
  16. 16 Valery Levaneuski Valery Levaneuski Belarusian pro-democracy activist b. 1963 · Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

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

How old is the average Valery?

The median living Valery is about 15 years old. Half of all living Valerys are between 6 and 24 years old.

How many people named Valery are alive today?

An estimated 8,600 people named Valery are alive in the United States, based on 8,932 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Valery mean?

From French Valéry, from Latin Valerius.

How popular is the name Valery in 2025?

Valery ranked #744 among girls' names in the United States in 2025, with 366 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Valery?

8,932 babies have been named Valery in the United States since 1914, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Valery most popular?

Valery peaked in 2006, when 395 newborns received the name.

Is Valery a boy or girl name?

Valery is overwhelmingly a girl's name: 99% of babies with the name.

Is the name Valery rising or falling?

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

Will Valery become more popular?

Valery is trending upward. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 429 girls named Valery 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 Valery?

Well-known people named Valery include Valery Legasov (chemist), Valery Gerasimov (military personnel), Valery Gergiev (musician).

Names like Valery

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

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