Valecia
A feminine name of Latin origin meaning "healthy" or "strong".
Name Census estimates that about 382 living Americans carry the first name Valecia. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Valecia today is around 50 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Valecia births was 1969 (27 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Valecia. 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
382
~ 1 in 897,263 Americans
Peak year
1969
27 babies that year
Average age
50
years old
2008 SSA rank
#20,300
Tracked since 1955
Census
Valecia in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 429 people with the first name Valecia, which placed it at #22,989 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#22,989
National first-name rank
People counted
429
429 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.1
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
68.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Valecia
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Valecia is Black at 68.3%. The next largest groups are White (20.3%) and Hispanic (4.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Valecia described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Valecia at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American68.3% · 293
- White20.3% · 87
- Hispanic or Latino4.7% · 20
- Two or more races4.4% · 19
- American Indian and Alaska Native1.4% · 6
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 4
Popularity
Valecia: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Valecia from the 1950s through to the 2000s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1960s, with 149 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
Valecia 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 Valecia during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Valecias live
Origin
Meaning and history of Valecia
The given name Valecia is a beautiful and intriguing one, with roots that stretch back centuries. Its origins can be traced to the Latin word "valentia," which means strength, courage, or valor. This name was likely brought to prominence during the Roman era, when such virtues were highly prized.
Valecia gained popularity in various regions of Europe, particularly in Spain and Italy, where it was often bestowed upon young girls as a symbol of the strength and resilience they were expected to possess. The name's spelling has evolved over time, with variations such as Valentia, Valencia, and Valenza appearing in different cultures.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Valecia can be found in the writings of the Roman historian Tacitus, who documented the life of a brave Roman matron known as Valecia Prisca. This woman lived during the 1st century AD and was renowned for her unwavering dedication to her family and her steadfast principles.
Throughout the Middle Ages, Valecia remained a popular choice among noble families, particularly in Spain and Italy. One notable figure bearing this name was Valecia de Aragón, a 13th-century Spanish noblewoman who played a significant role in the political affairs of her time.
In the Renaissance era, the name Valecia gained further prominence with the birth of the Italian painter Valecia Brinzi (1490-1565), whose vibrant and emotive works captured the spirit of the age. Her artistic legacy continues to inspire artists to this day.
Another remarkable woman who bore the name Valecia was the French writer and philosopher Valecia de Rambouillet (1588-1665). Her literary salon in Paris was a gathering place for some of the most influential thinkers and artists of the 17th century, and her contributions to the intellectual and cultural life of France were significant.
As the centuries passed, the name Valecia continued to be bestowed upon individuals who embodied the qualities of strength and courage. One such figure was Valecia Merriweather (1889-1968), an American activist and educator who dedicated her life to advocating for civil rights and equal opportunities for African Americans.
These are just a few examples of the many remarkable individuals throughout history who have carried the name Valecia. Each of them has left an indelible mark on their respective fields, embodying the very essence of the name's meaning – strength, courage, and valor.
People
Valecia + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Valecia 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
Valecia: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Valecia?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 382 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Valecia 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 897,263 US residents.
Is Valecia a common name?
We classify Valecia as "Very Rare". It ranks above 81.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 434 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Valecia most popular?
The single biggest year for Valecia was 1969, when 27 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Valecia is about 50 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Valecia in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 429 people with the name Valecia, or 0.14 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #22,989 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Valecia in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Valecia?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Valecia appears almost entirely female. Of the 431 people counted with this name, 99.3% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Valecia?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Valecia is Black at 68.3%. The next largest groups are White (20.3%) and Hispanic (4.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Valecia most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Valecia in the 2020 Census, accounting for 68.3% (293 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Valecia in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Valecia a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Valecia 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.
Is Valecia still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Valecia in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Valecia can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How many people have Valecia as a first name?
If you just want to know how many Americans are named Valecia, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.