Vali
A name of Persian origin meaning "strong, lion-like".
Name Census estimates that about 159 living Americans carry the first name Vali. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 76.2% of registrations being female. The average person named Vali today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Vali births was 2020 (18 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Vali. 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
159
~ 1 in 2,155,688 Americans
Peak year
2020
18 babies that year
Average age
35
years old
2023 SSA rank
#9,553
Tracked since 1952
Gender
Gender distribution for Vali
Vali is one of the more evenly split names in the SSA data. Of the 185 total registrations, 44 (23.8%) were male and 141 (76.2%) were female.
Vali as a male name
- Ranked #12,134 in 2023
- 6 male births in 2023
- Peak: 2022 (11 births)
Vali as a female name
- Ranked #9,553 in 2023
- 11 female births in 2023
- Peak: 2020 (11 births)
Popularity
Vali: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Vali from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 4 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 64 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
Vali 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 Vali 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 Vali
The name Vali has its origins in the Sanskrit language, stemming from ancient India. It is derived from the Sanskrit word "bali," which means "strength" or "sacrifice." The name can be traced back to the Vedic period, around 1500-500 BCE, and is associated with Hindu mythology and religious texts.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Vali can be found in the Hindu epic Ramayana, where it refers to a powerful monkey king who ruled over the kingdom of Kishkindha. According to the tale, Vali was the son of the god Indra and a monkey princess named Arundhati. He was known for his immense strength and bravery, but also for his arrogance and pride, which ultimately led to his downfall at the hands of Lord Rama.
In ancient Indian history, there are several notable figures who bore the name Vali. One such figure was Vali, a 7th-century ruler of the Chola dynasty in present-day Tamil Nadu, India. He was known for his military conquests and for patronizing the arts and literature during his reign.
Another famous Vali was Vali Nasr, a 10th-century Persian scholar and physician who made significant contributions to the field of medicine. He wrote several treatises on various medical topics, including a comprehensive work on ophthalmology.
In the 16th century, Vali-ud-din Muhtasham was a renowned Mughal calligrapher and poet who served under the emperor Akbar. He was renowned for his mastery of the Nasta'liq script and his contributions to the development of Persian calligraphy.
Moving to more modern times, Vali Nasr is a contemporary Iranian-American academic and author who has written extensively on the Middle East and Islamic studies. He is currently a professor at Johns Hopkins University and has served as a senior advisor to the U.S. government on foreign policy matters.
Throughout history, the name Vali has been associated with strength, sacrifice, and bravery, reflecting its Sanskrit roots. While it has been predominantly used in South Asia and the Middle East, the name has also found its way into other cultures and regions, carrying with it the rich historical and mythological significance of its origins.
People
Vali + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Vali 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
Vali: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Vali?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 159 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Vali 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 2,155,688 US residents.
Is Vali a common name?
We classify Vali as "Very Rare". It ranks above 71.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 185 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Vali most popular?
The single biggest year for Vali was 2020, when 18 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Vali is about 35 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Vali a female name?
Yes, 76.2% of people registered as Vali 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.