ninan.org

Valerie

Girls' name · Mid-century

Living in the US
~244,900 survival-weighted estimate
2025 rank
#127 among girls
Births in 2025
2,221 273,922 since 1880
Typical age
50 years, median

Valerie popularity over time

Valerie rank by birth year, 1884–2025Valerie ranked #793 in 1884 and #127 in 2025. Its best rank in the period was #60, in 1959.#100#1,000#127best #60 in 195918901920195019802010
Rank among US baby names by birth year, 1884–2025. Lower is more popular; the scale is logarithmic so the top of the chart is not compressed.

1959 is the peak year for Valerie, with 7,318 births. It first clears the SSA reporting threshold in 1884. It has held a top-100 place in 36 separate years.

As of 2025 the name sits at #127, with 2,221 births that year. It climbed 20 places against the previous year.

Babies named Valerie per yearPeaks at 7,318 births in 1959.7,318 in 1959018901920195019802010
Recorded US births by year. The peak is labelled; the axis starts at zero.

How many people are named Valerie?

Roughly 244,900 Valeries are alive in the US right now. SSA has recorded 273,922 births under the name since 1880.

This is a survival-weighted estimate, not a headcount: every recorded birth year is multiplied by the chance someone born that year is still alive, using the SSA period life table. How the estimate works.

How old is the average Valerie?

Half of living Valeries are older than 50, half younger. Most living bearers were born in the 1960s. By the site’s era rules that makes Valerie a mid-century name.

Your Valerie

Ages of living people named ValerieHalf of living Valeries are older than 50 and half younger.median 50020406080100
Estimated living bearers by age today. Each bar is a birth year, weighted by the chance someone born then is still alive.

Where Valerie is most common

Nevada uses the name 2.2× as often as the country as a whole. Rhode Island, California and Florida follow.

Where Valerie is used more than average5 states use the name Valerie more than the national average.Alaska: not over-representedAKMaine: not over-representedMEVermont: not over-representedVTNew Hampshire: not over-representedNHWashington: not over-representedWAIdaho: not over-representedIDMontana: not over-representedMTNorth Dakota: not over-representedNDMinnesota: not over-representedMNIllinois: not over-representedILWisconsin: not over-representedWIMichigan: not over-representedMINew York: not over-representedNYOregon: not over-representedORNevada: 2.2× the national rateNVWyoming: not over-representedWYSouth Dakota: not over-representedSDIowa: not over-representedIAIndiana: not over-representedINOhio: not over-representedOHPennsylvania: not over-representedPANew Jersey: 1.5× the national rateNJConnecticut: not over-representedCTRhode Island: 2.1× the national rateRICalifornia: 1.9× the national rateCAUtah: not over-representedUTColorado: not over-representedCONebraska: not over-representedNEMissouri: not over-representedMOKentucky: not over-representedKYWest Virginia: not over-representedWVVirginia: not over-representedVAMaryland: not over-representedMDDelaware: not over-representedDEMassachusetts: not over-representedMAArizona: not over-representedAZNew Mexico: not over-representedNMKansas: not over-representedKSArkansas: not over-representedARTennessee: not over-representedTNNorth Carolina: not over-representedNCSouth Carolina: not over-representedSCDistrict of Columbia: not over-representedDCOklahoma: not over-representedOKLouisiana: not over-representedLAMississippi: not over-representedMSAlabama: not over-representedALGeorgia: not over-representedGAHawaii: not over-representedHITexas: not over-representedTXFlorida: 1.7× the national rateFL
Same as national3× or more
Location quotient, 2016–2025. Shaded states use the name more than the country does, relative to their own births. Exact figures are in the table below.
States where Valerie is over-represented, 2016–2025. The location quotient compares the state's share of the name with the national share.
StateBirthsvs national rate
Nevada 278 2.2×
Rhode Island 71 2.1×
California 3,992 1.9×
Florida 1,700 1.7×
New Jersey 644 1.5×

Valerie in England and Wales

In England and Wales, Valerie ranked #684 in 2025 on 54 births. That is 69% higher than five years earlier.

Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Counts below three are suppressed by ONS.

Where the name Valerie comes from

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

Etymology summarised from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0. Wiktionary entry.

Notable people named Valerie

Ordered by how many Wikipedia language editions have an article about them — a measure of reach, not of importance.
NameKnown forYearsEditions
Valerie Solanas American radical feminist and author 1936–1988 48
Valerie Adams New Zealand shot putter (1984-) 1984 39
Valerie Perrine American actress 1943–2026 37
Valerie Harper American actress 1939–2019 34
Valerie Bertinelli American actress 1960 31
Valerie Mahaffey American actress 1953–2025 29
Valerie Jarrett American businesswoman and a former government official 1956 28
Valerie Brisco-Hooks athletics competitor 1960 26
Photo credits (8)

The sharpest rise. Births under this name jumped from 319 in 1934 to 486 in 1935 — 1.5 times over in a single year.

Birth records contain the rise and nothing about its cause. This site does not supply one.

People and dates from Wikidata (CC0), limited to those with an English Wikipedia article who are known by this name as their first name.

Related pages

Get this data

Every number on this page is available as JSON: /api/name/valerie.json. Free to use with attribution (CC BY 4.0).