Valerie Harper
There are approximately 95 people named Valerie Harper living in the United States today. That makes this name combination very rare, occurring at a rate of about 1 in 3,607,940 Americans.
This estimate combines SSA birth records for the first name Valerie with Census Bureau frequency data for the surname Harper. Below you will find a breakdown of both names, including popularity trends, gender data, and ancestry information.
Expected bearers
95
1 in 3,607,940
Named Valerie
226K
Alive today
Named Harper
145K
Alive today
US population
343M
Denominator
Estimated living: 226K
Rarity: Common
Gender: Female
Peak year: 1959
Average age: 46
Estimated bearers: 145K
Rarity: Common
Census rank: #245
Per 100K: 42.19
Top ancestry: White (67.9%)
First name trend
Valerie: popularity over time
Year-by-year SSA birth registrations for the first name Valerie. The peak year was 1959 with 7,320 births. The average person named Valerie today is 46 years old.
Babies born per year
Ethnicity
Ancestry of the Harper surname
Self-reported race and ethnicity breakdown for people with the surname Harper, from the 2010 US Census Bureau. The largest group is White at 67.9%.
- White67.9%
- Black or African American26.2%
- Two or more races2.4%
- Hispanic or Latino2.3%
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.7%
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.5%
Methodology
How we calculated this
The first name Valerie has a living-bearer frequency of 0.0659% of the US population, based on 225,722 estimated living Americans carrying this first name (from SSA birth records going back to 1880, adjusted for mortality using CDC life tables).
The surname Harper appears at a rate of 42.19 per 100,000 residents in the 2010 Census Bureau surname file, which translates to a frequency of 0.0422%.
Multiplying these two independent frequencies against the current US population of 342,754,338 gives an expected count of approximately 95 people with the full name Valerie Harper. This assumes statistical independence between first and last names, which is a simplification but produces reasonable estimates for most combinations.
FAQ
Valerie Harper: questions and answers
How many people are named Valerie Harper?
We estimate approximately 95 people in the United States share the full name Valerie Harper. That works out to about 1 in 3,607,940 Americans. This is calculated by combining the first-name frequency (0.0659%) with the surname frequency (42.19 per 100K) against the current US population.
How rare is the name Valerie Harper?
We classify Valerie Harper as "Very Rare". About 1 in 3,607,940 Americans share this exact first and last name combination.
Is Valerie a male or female name?
Valerie is predominantly female. Out of 271,690 total SSA registrations, 0.3% were male and 99.7% were female. See the full Valerie profile for detailed gender data.
Where does this data come from?
First-name data comes from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files (1880 to 2024). Surname data comes from the 2010 US Census Bureau decennial surname tables. Living-bearer estimates use CDC actuarial life tables to adjust for mortality. Read the full methodology.