Valaria
A feminine name of Latin origin potentially meaning "strong" or "valiant".
Name Census estimates that about 155 living Americans carry the first name Valaria. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Valaria today is around 58 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Valaria births was 1960 (14 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Valaria. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
155
~ 1 in 2,211,318 Americans
Peak year
1960
14 babies that year
Average age
58
years old
1994 SSA rank
#10,533
Tracked since 1914
Popularity
Valaria: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Valaria from the 1910s through to the 1990s, spanning 9 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 74 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1960s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Valaria by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Valaria during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Valaria
The name Valaria has its origins in Latin, derived from the word "valere," which means "to be strong" or "to be well." This name was popular among the ancient Romans and was often given to girls born into wealthy or influential families.
The earliest recorded use of the name Valaria dates back to the 1st century AD, when it was mentioned in various historical texts and inscriptions from the Roman Empire. One notable example is the inscription found in the ruins of Pompeii, which references a woman named Valaria who lived during the time of the city's destruction in 79 AD.
In ancient Roman mythology, Valaria was also the name of a minor goddess associated with strength and health. She was often invoked by Roman soldiers before battle, seeking her blessings for protection and victory.
During the Middle Ages, the name Valaria fell out of favor in most parts of Europe, but it remained in use among certain aristocratic families in Italy and Spain. One notable figure from this period was Valaria de Medici (1488-1537), a member of the influential Medici family in Florence and the wife of Ferdinando de' Medici, Duke of Mantua.
The name experienced a resurgence in popularity during the Renaissance, particularly in Italy and France. One famous bearer of the name was Valaria Borghese (1590-1649), an Italian noblewoman and patron of the arts who was renowned for her beauty and her support of artists like Gian Lorenzo Bernini.
In the 19th century, the name Valaria gained some traction in English-speaking countries, though it remained relatively rare. One notable example from this period was Valaria Olcott (1832-1898), an American author and educator who played a significant role in the development of kindergarten education in the United States.
Another historical figure with the name Valaria was Valaria Mossouri (1878-1950), a Greek-American opera singer and soprano who performed in many prestigious opera houses throughout Europe and the United States in the early 20th century.
People
Valaria + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Valaria as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with V
Other first names starting with V with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Valaria: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Valaria?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 155 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Valaria going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 2,211,318 US residents.
Is Valaria a common name?
We classify Valaria as "Very Rare". It ranks above 70.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 272 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Valaria most popular?
The single biggest year for Valaria was 1960, when 14 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Valaria is about 58 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Valaria a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Valaria in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.