Valentino
A masculine given name of Latin origin meaning "strong, vigorous".
Name Census estimates that about 10,028 living Americans carry the first name Valentino. It sits at #452 in the overall ranking, outside the top 50 but still well-represented. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Valentino today is around 19 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Valentino births was 2024 (690 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Valentino. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Valentino with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
10K
~ 1 in 34,180 Americans
Peak year
2024
690 babies that year
Average age
19
years old
2024 SSA rank
#452
Tracked since 1910
Census
Valentino in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 7,033 people with the first name Valentino, which placed it at #3,122 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
#3,122
National first-name rank
People counted
7.0K
7,033 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
2.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Hispanic or Latino
57.7% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Valentino
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Valentino is Hispanic at 57.7%. The next largest groups are White (22.8%) and Black (8.5%). 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 Valentino 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 Valentino at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Hispanic or Latino57.7% · 4,056
- White22.8% · 1,603
- Black or African American8.5% · 599
- Asian and Pacific Islander5.8% · 410
- Two or more races2.9% · 206
- American Indian and Alaska Native2.3% · 159
Popularity
Valentino: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Valentino from the 1910s through to the 2020s, spanning 12 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 3,442 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Valentino 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 Valentino during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Valentinos live
The SSA's state-level files cover 32 states and territories. California, Florida, Texas recorded the most babies named Valentino, while Louisiana, Arkansas, South Carolina recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 253 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Valentino
The name Valentino is derived from the Late Latin name Valentinus, which itself is derived from the Latin word "valens" meaning "strong" or "vigorous". This name has its origins in ancient Rome and was first used as a surname during the Roman Empire.
The name Valentinus initially gained popularity as the name of several early Christian martyrs and saints. One of the most famous bearers of the name was Saint Valentine, a 3rd-century Roman priest who was martyred on February 14th, which is now celebrated as Valentine's Day. The name became associated with love and romance due to the legends surrounding Saint Valentine.
The earliest recorded use of the name Valentino as a given name dates back to the Middle Ages. During the Renaissance period, the name gained popularity in Italy, particularly in the regions of Tuscany and Umbria.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals named Valentino. One of the most famous was the Italian fashion designer Valentino Garavani (1932-2022), known for his iconic red dresses and his eponymous fashion house, Valentino.
Another notable bearer of the name was the Italian film actor Rudolph Valentino (1895-1926), who was a famous Hollywood star during the silent film era and was often referred to as the "Latin Lover".
In the world of classical music, Valentino Bucchi (1916-1976) was an Italian conductor and composer who worked extensively in the field of opera and ballet.
In literature, Valentino Bompiani (1898-1992) was an Italian publisher and writer, known for founding the prestigious publishing house Bompiani.
Valentino Mazzola (1919-1949) was an Italian footballer who played as a forward for Torino F.C. and the Italian national team. He tragically lost his life in the Superga air disaster, along with the entire Torino team.
People
Valentino + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Valentino 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
Valentino: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Valentino?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 10,028 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Valentino 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 34,180 US residents.
Is Valentino a common name?
We classify Valentino as "Uncommon". It ranks above 97.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 11,070 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Valentino most popular?
The single biggest year for Valentino was 2024, when 690 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Valentino is about 19 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Valentino in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 7,033 people with the name Valentino, or 2.33 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #3,122 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 Valentino 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 Valentino?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Valentino leans strongly male. 6,867 people counted with this name were male (97.7%), compared with 164 female bearers (2.3%). 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 Valentino?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Valentino is Hispanic at 57.7%. The next largest groups are White (22.8%) and Black (8.5%). 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 Valentino most often in the Census?
Hispanic is the largest reported group for people named Valentino in the 2020 Census, accounting for 57.7% (4,056 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 Valentino in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Valentino a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Valentino in the SSA data are male. 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 Valentino still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Valentino 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 Valentino 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 Valentino as a first name?
For a faster, more casual read, check HowManyOfMe.org — our sister site built around that single question.