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She’s a twentieth century staple that might make you burst into song.
Thanks to Fran for suggesting Valerie as our Baby Name of the Day.
Valerius was a Roman family name, derived from the Latin valere – to be strong. It’s the same root as our words valor and valiant. Today we equate valor with bravery; the earlier sense is closer to worthy. Either way, they’re desirable qualities and it is easy to imagine parents embracing the name.
Val names are plentiful, including:
- Valerian, a Roman emperor and more than a half dozen saints;
- Valeriy, Valery, and Walery, Slavic masculine forms;
- Valerio, found in Romance languages;
- The feminine Valeria.
And then there’s Valerie. Some might accuse parents of stealing Valerie from the boys, but it just isn’t so. She’s a feminine form dating back to at least medieval France.
St. Valerie of Limoges may be pure fiction. Her gory story goes like this: either because she was a Christian convert, or possibly because she refused to marriage, Valerie was put to death. But no mere beheading could stop her. Valerie picked up her noggin and marched into the church. Depictions of headless saints were more popular than you might guess.
Valerie begins to resurface in the nineteenth century. At least two figures wore the name:
- Archduchess Marie Valerie of Austria, usually known by her middle name only;
- Lady Meux, born Valerie Langdon, who made the kind of marriage that romance novelists invent. Langdon was either an actress or a prostitute or both when she captured the heart of Sir Henry Meux, a baronet and wealthy brewer. She drove herself around London in a zebra-drawn carriage.
Valeria was slightly more common in the late 19th century. The French form began to catch on in the 1930s, reaching #214 in 1940 and peaking at #60 in 1959. Part of her initial boost might have come from actress Valerie Hobson – Frankenstein’s beloved in 1935’s The Bride of Frankenstein.
Rather than a steady rise and equally measured decline, Valerie has reached a comfortable plateau. In 2004 she ranked #180; by 2010, she was back to #149. She can’t be called dated, exactly, even though a great many Valeries belonged to the Baby Boom generation.
Maybe it is the steady succession of songs that keeps her young:
- The Monkees scored a hit in 1968 with “Valleri“ – the single originally appeared on their television show in 1967. I can’t find any explanation for the unorthodox spelling;
- Steve Winwood recorded his “Valerie” in 1987;
- My favorite – Material Issue – scored their biggest hit with “Valerie Loves Me” in 1991;
- Amy Winehouse’s hit was also covered on Glee.
The small screen has also been kind to the name:
- Valerie Harper played Rhoda on The Mary Tyler Moore Show then starred in her own spin-off;
- Valerie Bertinelli hit it big on One Day at a Time, married a rock star,and rebooted her career as a Jenny Craig spokeswoman;
- Tiffani Thiessen moved to Beverly Hills 90210 as Valerie Malone, a bad girl who made Brenda look like a saint;
- In 2005 Lisa Kudrow starred on short-lived HBO original series The Comeback as Valerie Cherish.
Material Issue’s single lends the name a certain indie edge. 1996’s I Shot Andy Warhol is based on the true story of Valerie Solanos, the radical feminist turned would-be assassin – and gives good-girl Valerie a dark side. Speaking of dark, Amanda Seyfried donned a red cloak and the name Valerie to take on a werewolf in 2011’s Red Riding Hood.
And so Valerie remains – never quite fresh, just short of truly stylish, but somehow still current, even surprising.
I like Valerie, but my virtue name loving self always wants to spell it Valorie! It isn’t the first of my V-girl names (I have a lot on that one), but it is on there. For a boy, I like Valor, and I like Valeria, as well.
Valor is strangely wearable, isn’t it? The rare virtue name that could work for a boy …
Stacy Dash’s new television show Single Ladies features a main character named Valerie.
Thanks! I saw it was on last night, but I think I dozed off without ever getting to it!
I love Valerie! I think it would sound adorably retro on a little girl. I don’t like Valeria, though (too similar to malaria, as already noted).
P.S. Even though Rhoda was before my time, I’ve always thought she was wicked cool (and Valerie Harper, too).
My friend’s mother is named Valerie, (my friend is Mallory, and has the same middle name as her mother, although her older sister is Cassandra, because their father wanted to name her Cassiopeia, and Cassie was the compromise). I always think of them as Val and Moo (that’s a long story). So I could never use it. I do like Valeria, but because I take Latin, I read it as WA-lair-ee-a, the way it would be pronounced in Latin, and that’s just not quite as pretty. And there are other Latin names I like more, like Aurora, Aurelia, and even my own name.
I have a childhood friend whose maiden name was Valerie Horn******. Since middle school kids are horrible, she had the unfortunate nickname Val-hornie. I still hear it whenever someone says this name.
Valiant or Valor could are quite appealing, in the same way I’m drawn to Honor and Rune. Maybe as a middle name?
Valiant makes me think “Prince Valiant” – but I’m guessing that’s a fading reference, so maybe it could work as a first name – and definitely in the middle spot.
I find Valerie remarkably pretty, but with an aunt through marriage and a cousin’s fiance both named Valerie, there’s no way I could ever use it.
I’m not very familiar with the songs or famous 20th-century personages you mentioned as bearing the name, but one namesake that does come to my mind is the heroine of Wilkie Collins’ 1875 _The Law and the Lady_. The appropriately named Valeria Brinton is usually cited as English literature’s first female detective.
Charlotte Vera, as always, thank you for elevating the conversation! I’m vaguely aware of the Wilkie Collins novel – is it a good read? I’ll add it to the stack for the summer, something to keep my brain from leaking out of my ears as I watch all of the reality television on my DVR …
Haha, last night I was letting my brain leak out by watching School of Rock. It’s not my usual style of movie, but I wanted to watch it because the writer (who also acts in the film) competed in two seasons of The Amazing Race!
I enjoyed The Law and the Lady. It’s a quicker read than some of Collins’ other works, but my favourites are still The Woman in White and Man and Wife.
My DH has an Italian cousin named Valeria. When I first met her, I heard “malaria”. That ruined any fondness I might have had for the name.
Huh. They do rhyme, don’t they? I wonder how Valeria sounds in Spanish? I need to go find a native speaker …
I’ve been tempted to use Valerie to honor my mom (who is Val). It’s quite pretty. I was good childhood friends with a Valory, I like the spelling too.
Amy Winehouse’s “Valerie” was a cover. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valerie_(The_Zutons_song) It was originally done by The Zutons
Thanks and d’oh! I listened to their version on YouTube, too – but it didn’t occur to me check which came first …
I like Valerie, but adore the frillier Valeria. That was my Aunt’s birth name. Not that she went by it, she was known to all as Violet. Go figure. Now I prefer Val on a guy, but Valerie in full is happy, sweet and linked to a virtue I admire. Beats Kimberly & Donna (no offense to anyone with those names) to me!