Valtteri
A Finnish masculine name derived from the Germanic name Walter, meaning "ruler of the army".
Name Census estimates that about 7 living Americans carry the first name Valtteri. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Valtteri today is around 3 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Valtteri births was 2023 (7 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Valtteri. 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
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Valtteri. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
7
~ 1 in 48,964,905 Americans
Peak year
2023
7 babies that year
Average age
3
years old
2023 SSA rank
#10,723
Tracked since 2023
Popularity
Valtteri: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Valtteri 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 Valtteri during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 7 | 0 | 7 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Valtteri
The name Valtteri is a Finnish masculine given name derived from the Old Norse name Valþjófr, which itself is a compound of the elements valr ("the slain") and þjófr ("thief"). In ancient Norse mythology, this name referred to those who plundered the bodies of the slain on the battlefield.
The earliest recorded use of the name Valtteri dates back to the 13th century in Finland, where it was adopted from the Old Norse form. The name was particularly popular among the Finnish nobility and ruling class during the Middle Ages.
One of the earliest documented individuals with the name Valtteri was Valtteri Jaakonpoika, a 14th-century Finnish priest and chronicler who wrote about the Swedish-Novgorodian Wars in his work "Chronicon Finlandiae".
Another notable historical figure with this name was Valtteri Yrjänänpoika (1522-1599), a Finnish military commander and statesman who served as the Governor of Nyland and Tavastehus County during the latter part of the 16th century.
In the 17th century, Valtteri Wrede (1633-1709) was a Swedish-Finnish military officer who fought in the Scanian War and later became the Governor-General of Swedish Pomerania.
During the 18th century, Valtteri Vilhelm Rönnbäck (1746-1823) was a Finnish-Swedish architect and urban planner who designed several notable buildings in Helsinki and Turku.
In the 19th century, Valtteri Bergroth (1849-1922) was a Finnish entomologist and zoologist who made significant contributions to the study of insects, particularly in the field of Hemiptera.
The name Valtteri has remained a popular choice in Finland throughout its history, with several notable individuals bearing this name in modern times, although recent census data is not included in this report due to its focus on historical accounts.
People
Valtteri + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Valtteri 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
Valtteri: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Valtteri?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 7 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Valtteri 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 48,964,905 US residents.
Is Valtteri a common name?
We classify Valtteri as "Very Rare". It ranks above 23.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 7 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Valtteri most popular?
The single biggest year for Valtteri was 2023, when 7 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Valtteri is about 3 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 Valtteri in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Valtteri a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Valtteri 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 Valtteri still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Valtteri 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 Valtteri 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 called Valtteri?
If you just want to know how many people share the name Valtteri, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.