Valri
A feminine Scandinavian name meaning "Encounter, Combat or Battle".
Name Census estimates that about 25 living Americans carry the first name Valri. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Valri today is around 71 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Valri births was 1957 (8 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Valri. 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 Valri is about 71 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Valris were born before 1965.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Valri. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
25
~ 1 in 13,710,174 Americans
Peak year
1957
8 babies that year
Average age
71
years old
1960 SSA rank
#5,671
Tracked since 1950
Popularity
Valri: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Valri from the 1950s through to the 1960s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 29 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Valri 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 Valri 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 Valri
The name Valri has its origins in Old Norse, the language spoken by the ancient Scandinavian peoples. It is derived from the Old Norse word "valr," which means "the slain," referring to those who fell in battle. The name gained popularity in the Viking era, between the 8th and 11th centuries AD, when Norse culture and language spread across Scandinavia, parts of modern-day Britain, and other regions of Northern Europe.
Valri was a name often given to sons born to Norse warriors or chieftains, as a symbol of strength, valor, and the honorable legacy of fallen warriors. The name appears in several ancient Norse sagas and poetic texts, such as the Poetic Edda and the Prose Edda, which were written down in the 13th century but reflect much older oral traditions.
One of the earliest recorded individuals with the name Valri was a Norwegian chieftain who lived in the late 9th century AD. He is mentioned in the Icelandic Sagas as a prominent figure during the time of the Norse settlement of Iceland. Another notable bearer of the name was Valri Hrafnsson, a Viking warrior from Iceland who lived in the 11th century and is featured in the Njáls saga, one of the most famous Icelandic sagas.
In the later medieval period, the name Valri remained in use among Scandinavian populations, particularly in Iceland and Norway. One of the more famous individuals with this name was Valri Þorvaldsson (c. 1220–1288), an Icelandic chieftain and lawspeaker who played a significant role in the Sturlung Age, a period of civil strife in Iceland.
During the Renaissance and Early Modern period, the name Valri continued to be used, albeit less commonly, in Scandinavia and among Scandinavian diaspora communities. One notable example is Valri Gissurarson (1621–1677), an Icelandic clergyman and scholar who authored several works on Icelandic history and literature.
Throughout its long history, the name Valri has been associated with themes of bravery, honor, and the warrior tradition of the ancient Norse peoples. While its usage has declined in modern times, it remains a powerful evocation of Scandinavian heritage and the rich cultural legacy of the Vikings.
People
Valri + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Valri 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
Valri: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Valri?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 25 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Valri 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 13,710,174 US residents.
Is Valri a common name?
We classify Valri as "Very Rare". It ranks above 43.6% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 36 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Valri most popular?
The single biggest year for Valri was 1957, when 8 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Valri is about 71 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Valri in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Valri a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Valri 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 Valri still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Valri 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 Valri 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are named Valri?
HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, answers that with the living-bearer count in one glance.