Valetta
A feminine name meaning "little valley" or "small valley".
Name Census estimates that about 228 living Americans carry the first name Valetta. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Valetta today is around 70 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Valetta births was 1920 (17 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Valetta. 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.
Key insights
- • The typical person named Valetta is about 70 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Valettas were born before 1966.
People living today
228
~ 1 in 1,503,309 Americans
Peak year
1920
17 babies that year
Average age
70
years old
1982 SSA rank
#12,255
Tracked since 1893
Popularity
Valetta: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Valetta from the 1890s through to the 1980s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 128 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Valetta 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 Valetta during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Valettas live
Origin
Meaning and history of Valetta
The name Valetta has its origins in the Italian language and is a diminutive form of the name Valeria, which itself is derived from the Latin word "valere," meaning "to be strong" or "to be worthy." The name is thought to have emerged during the Middle Ages in Italy, particularly in regions like Tuscany and Umbria.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Valetta can be found in a 14th-century Italian text, where it was mentioned as the name of a noblewoman from Florence. However, the name's popularity likely grew in the 16th century, during the time of the Renaissance and the rise of the city-state of Valletta, the capital of Malta.
In the 16th century, a notable figure named Valetta Brincioch was a Maltese woman who played a crucial role in the defense of the island during the Great Siege of Malta in 1565. Her bravery and determination inspired many, and the name Valetta became associated with strength and resilience.
Another historical figure with the name Valetta was Valetta Swann, a 17th-century English writer and poet who was born in 1635 and died in 1703. Her works, which often explored themes of love and spirituality, were widely read and appreciated during her lifetime.
In the 18th century, Valetta Massimo was an Italian noblewoman and philanthropist, born in 1755 and died in 1829, who was known for her charitable work and support of the arts. She was a patron of several artists and musicians in Rome.
Moving into the 19th century, Valetta Torriani was an Italian opera singer, born in 1812 and died in 1882, who performed in several notable productions across Europe, including at La Scala in Milan.
Lastly, in the early 20th century, Valetta Swann was an American writer and journalist, born in 1899 and died in 1978, who wrote extensively about the experiences of women in the United States during that era.
People
Valetta + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Valetta 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
Valetta: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Valetta?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 228 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Valetta 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 1,503,309 US residents.
Is Valetta a common name?
We classify Valetta as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 606 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Valetta most popular?
The single biggest year for Valetta was 1920, when 17 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Valetta is about 70 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Valetta a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Valetta 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.