Valentine

Spellings & scripts●

Locally spelled Valentin in RO Romania, ES Spain.

Spellings marked ● are how people bearing the name write it in our records; ○ marks a model's transliteration. Click a spelling to open its page.

Meaning & origin●

Attested across 20 languages in the etymology graph.

Languages●

Language is read off each record's context, not declared by the bearer; a share is of all records for this spelling.

Other names spelled this way◐

Valentine is also recorded as 4 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• Swahili surname44K records spelled Valentine3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Nigeria, Kenya, Tanzania

  Languages: Swahili, Southern Sotho

  Also written Valentine'

• Spanish given name35K records spelled Valentine170 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Argentina, Mexico, Romania, Brazil

  Languages: Spanish, English, Portuguese

  Also written Valentin, Valentino, Valentín, Valentìn, Walenty

• a separate surname21K records spelled Valentine3 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, United Kingdom, India, Canada

  Also written Valentīne, Valentinē

• Russian given name2.8K records spelled Valentine148 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Russia, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Poland

  Languages: Russian, Ukrainian, Bulgarian

  Also written Валентин, Valentin, Valentyn, Walenty, Valiantsin

80 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Other recorded senses●

Valentine is also recorded in 5 other lexicons, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• In English, Latin ‘healthy’; used in Ireland, with Irish example Valentine Greatrakes, famed for healing scrofula by touch.

  as a name·Irish first names

• , occasionally 2 English form of the Latin name Valentinus, a derivative of valens ‘healthy’, ‘strong’. This was the name of a Roman martyr of the 3rd century, whose feast is celebrated on 14 February. This was the date of a pagan fertility festival marking the first stirrings of spring, which has survived in an attenuated form under the patronage of the saint. Short form: Val.

  as a name·A concise dictionary of first names

• In English, An expression of affection, especially romantic affection, usually in the form of greeting card, gift, or message given the object of one's affection, especially on February 14th.

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• In English, saint; sweetheart; pers. name

  as a name·Pronouncing Dictionary of Proper Names

• In French, Féminin de Valentinus, du latin valens, « forte, saine ». Fête: 14 février.

  as a name·Dictionnaire généalogique des prénoms

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

Over time●

US SSA — National Baby Names (1880–present) — 146 years between 1880–2025. One register's own figures, never a sum across registers: two registers counting the same people would double them.

Notable people with this name●

• Howard Valentineb. 1881USathletics competitor (1881-1932)
• Joseph A. Valentineb. 1900USAmerican cinematographer (1900-1949)
• Hilton Valentineb. 1943GBBritish guitarist (1943–2021)
• Karen Valentineb. 1947USAmerican actress
• Scott Valentineb. 1958USAmerican film actor
• Gary Valentineb. 1961USAmerican actor and comedian
• Steve Valentineb. 1966GBScottish actor
• James Valentineb. 1978USAmerican guitarist
• Angelina Valentineb. 1986USAmerican pornographic actress
• Denzel Valentineb. 1993USAmerican basketball player (born 1993)

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Evidence●

Register rows as of the 2026-09-12 data build · 835 rows in the corpus for this spelling.

Frequently asked questions

How common is the name Valentine?

We estimate roughly 50 thousand people bear Valentine (counting its spellings and scripts) across 9 countries in our records.

In which country does Valentine have the most bearers?

We estimate about 40 thousand people bear Valentine in the United States, more than in any other country in our records, where it is most often spelled valentine.

How common is Valentine compared with other names?

In the United States, Valentine is the 746th most common surname of 7,257,200 surnames recorded there.

What does the name Valentine mean?

Recorded meaning: From the medieval personal name Valentine, from Latin Valentinus, a derivative of Valens, literally ‘brave one’.