Valerie
Valerie is ranked 147th among girls in 2024 (1,985 births). Its best rank was 60th, in 1959.
- Rank in 2024
- #147down 2 from 2023
- Births in 2024
- 1,9850.12% of girls
- Peak year
- 19597,304 births
- Best rank
- #60in 1959
- Since 1884
- 270,997people given the name
The story in the numbers
270,997 girls have been named Valerie in the United States since 1884, according to Social Security records. The busiest single year was 1959, with 7,304 births — 0.36% of all girls recorded that year.
It is holding steady: its share of births has moved by less than half in either direction over ten years (rank 176 → 147).
Half of everyone given the name was born by 1971, and the 1960s alone account for 21%. It has spent 135 of 145 years in the top 1,000, 36 of them in the top 100.
Rank among girls, year by year
By decade
| Decade | girls named Valerie | |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 32 | |
| 1890s | 141 | |
| 1900s | 259 | |
| 1910s | 1,314 | |
| 1920s | 1,710 | |
| 1930s | 3,960 | |
| 1940s | 13,694 | |
| 1950s | 52,232 | |
| 1960s | 56,587 | |
| 1970s | 33,811 | |
| 1980s | 34,630 | |
| 1990s | 22,011 | |
| 2000s | 21,961 | |
| 2010s | 19,012 | |
| 2020s | 9,643 |
In 1959, its biggest year
Valerie was the 60th most given girl’s name that year. The top five girls’ names of 1959 were Mary, Susan, Linda, Karen and Donna. See all of 1959.
Names that rose and fell with Valerie
Same sex, most similar popularity curve over 145 years, in five-year steps — the shape of the line, not the size.
- Maripeak 1957
- Melodiepeak 1956
- Risapeak 1962
- Valeripeak 1964
- Starletpeak 1981
- Jonnipeak 1957
- Lissapeak 1963
- Lezliepeak 1962
Other spellings in the data
What this page does not tell you. The Social Security data records how many babies were given a name, not what the name means or where it comes from — so neither do we. Counts cover people with a Social Security number; names given to fewer than five babies in a year are withheld. More on the data.