The baby name Valancy is a three-syllable, ends-in-y rarity with a pleasing literary pedigree.
Thanks to Jennifer for suggesting our Baby Name of the Day.
WHERE DOES THE NAME VALANCY COME FROM?
Canadian author Lucy Maude Montgomery is best known for her beloved Anne of Green Gables series.
Her writing delights for so many reasons. And if you’ve read the Anne series, you’ll recognize her as a devoted fan of given names. We learn that fictional orphan Anne Shirley longs to have a more interesting name, like Cordelia. But if she must be called Anne, at least make it Anne-with-an-E.
Montgomery chose great character names, but one stands out.
In 1926, she wrote a novel aimed at an adult audience – not her typical fare. The book is called The Blue Castle, and while it is far less well known, it has some very passionate fans.
The story opens with Valancy Stirling, a spinster by the standards of her day, unhappy at home with her small-minded family, consoling herself with books. Her favorite? The Blue Castle, by John Foster.
At the age of 29, Valancy is stuck living with her overbearing mother and the rest of the Stirlings, who are pretty awful as relatives go.
She finally rebels after a doctor tells her that she has a serious heart malady, and just a few months to live. Valancy goes to live as the companion to an old friend, where she meets the eccentric BarneySmith.
Cue the romance between Valancy and Barney, but how can it be a happily every after? Valancy doesn’t have long to live, and Barney has secrets.
Warning: spoilers ahead!
Then it turns out that her heart condition isn’t serious, and Barney is both secretly rich and secretly the author whose books Valancy has long loved. After a few more twists, all ends well.
The story is one of those lesser-known classics often read by Jane Austen fans.
VALANCY JANE STIRLING
What explains the heroine’s unusual name?
It’s not clear.
The characters tell us that she dislikes her middle name, Jane, but appreciates the first name Valancy. (Her family calls her by a childhood nickname, Doss – which Valancy would very much prefer to leave behind.)
Another Montgomery heroine, Jane Victoria Stuart, echoes Valancy’s complaint. (Stuart also dislikes her middle name, Victoria.)
There’s also Emily Starr, featured in the novels Emily of New Moon, Emily Climbs, and Emily’s Quest.
Names clearly matter to Montgomery. So where did she discover Valancy?
WHAT DOES THE NAME VALANCY MEAN?
During the 1870s and 80s, IsabellaValancy Crawford became successful freelance poet, a time when such a thing was rare for a woman. Born in Dublin, Crawford lived her adult life in Canada, eventually settling in Toronto. While she wasn’t a superstar in her lifetime, a 1923 compilation of her work put her back in the spotlight – just in time for Montgomery to write The Blue Castle.
So how did Crawford come by her middle name? Little is known of her early life in Dublin, but it feels like Valancy must be a surname.
The surname Vallance is found in English and Scottish families, connected to the French place name Valence. Like Valencia, Valence is tied to the Roman family name Valens, derived from the Latin valentia – strength, capacity.
Given the story of Montgomery’s heroine, it seems like a fitting choice, doesn’t it?
VALANCY OUTSIDE OF THE NOVEL
Or was there another source for the name Valancy?
Zenna Henderson became one of the first women to write science fiction, publishing her first short story in 1951. There was a Valancy in her stories about a group of aliens living on Earth. In 1972, The People became a made-for-TV movie.
Henderson might have read Montgomery’s novel, of course.
But Valancy sounds sci fi for another reason. It brings to mind valence bonds in chemistry. As with the Roman family name, it comes from the Latin word meaning strong.
It’s spelled valence in American English and valency in British English. The valence of an atom measures its combining capacity when forming molecules or compounds. The term has been used since the 1800s.
One more: a valance is a type of decorative curtain. In this case, it comes from the French word meaning “to let down.” It suggests something that hangs down. It seems the least likely source of inspiration for this name.
HOW POPULAR IS THE NAME VALANCY?
The baby name Valancy is about as rare as names can be.
It was given to fewer than five girls born in 2023. In fact, it has never registered in US Social Security Administration data, suggesting that only a handful of people have ever received the name.
And yet Val names feel traditional and stylish, and there are some rarities on the list, too, including:
- Valerie and Valeria
- Valentine, Valentina, and Valentino
- Valen, Valens, Valente, and Valena
- Valencio and Valencia
All of this makes the name immediately familiar but decidedly rare.
WEARABLE RARITY
With easy nickname Val and an intriguing backstory, Valancy seems like a wearable rarity.
It’s original and strong, with a great meaning and intriguing namesakes and associations.
If you’re after a name that blends science and literature, it’s easy to imagine Valancy being the perfect choice.
What do you think of the name Valancy?
First published on October 30, 2012, this post was revised on November 11, 2024.
My name is valancy (val-an-see) and my dad actually got it from an old movie called “The People”. There are very few of us around and I love the uniqueness of my name. But, to make things easier on society I go by Val. I hate being called Valerie…so, if your considering Valancy for your daughter, be prepared for a lifetime of mispronunciation, explanations, and for her to simply go by Val 😉 …or be called valerie.
My name is Valancy (middle name is Dawn), and I have always had very positive reactions from people when I tell them my name. Usually they say something like, “Valancy? Valancy. That’s such a pretty name. Where did your parents get it from? I’ve never heard that.” Or just “What a beautiful name.” I like it and agree that it is a very beautiful name, although in my adult life (ever since I was in the Air Force) I’ve mainly been known as “Val” (much to my mother’s annoyance). I actually prefer Valancy, but Val is easier for people to remember. Then, when they’ve only known me as Val and they introduce me to someone else, they just assume my name is Valerie. I’ve had people call me “Valerie”, “Valentine”, or “Valancia” or variations of pronunciation like “Vuh-LAN-see” (most common mispronunciation by far). My name is pronounced “VAL-an-see”. When people ask how it is spelled, I sometimes say “Like vacancy with an L instead of a C.” In fact, as a child when we would pass motels on our long road trips, I always used to think they had my name up in lights, except they misspelled it of course! I loved to see “VACANCY” in bright lights all across the country. Lol
I think this book, “The Blue Castle”, is where my mother got my name. I read the book in high school after one of my friends told me about it. I had already been an LM Montgomery fan since childhood, so of course I loved it. I have never personally met anyone else named Valancy in all my 40 years, although I have seen a few Valancys on Facebook. And I have never met anyone else who has ever met a Valancy either. So, I feel that I have a pretty unique name. I wish I had given it to my daughter as a middle name. I have never had the feeling of it being a surname, and it never crossed my mind to think of it as masculine. In fact, it seems like a very feminine name to me. Anyway, I love it, in spite of how many times people mispronounce it. I would love to someday meet a little Valancy somewhere!
I wonder if you could get by with the nickname Nan for this name since it sounds so much like Nancy to me. I wanted to name my daughter Nan but at the same time I am one of these people that doesn’t go for nicknames on birth certificates (even though I know of a Nan that isn’t a nickname) and I don’t really like Nancy and I don’t see the point of naming a girl Anne and calling her Nan when they are the same length and don’t really take any more work to say (another reason why I find the whole John/Jack thing odd.) The Blue Castle is probably on my top 5 favorite books so I totally could see me using this name.
Incidentally, my name is Adelissa and my mother got the idea from an ancient ancestor of some royals https://fabpedigree.com/s057/f002555.htm She was looking for a variant of alice to honor her grandmother but something different. Valancy Adelissa is pretty, I think.
The Blue Castle is by far my absolute favorite book. I even have a first edition framed in my front room and I’m working on an embroidered piece to frame to hang with it. I’m pregnant with a girl at the moment and have considered it solely because I love the book so much. I just don’t know if I love the name. I’m stuck on Vivienne right now, though my husband disagrees.
I just found out this is where my parents got my name. Although it is spelled differently. I have never met another Valency.
I named my daughter Valancy, which I liked both because of The Blue Castle and because of Isabella Valancy Crawford. It seemed a very Canadian name.
I think it should be obvious that I adore this post.
I am the youngest of six and my mother named me Valancy. I am the only one in the family that has an unusual first name. I do go by Val, but it really irritated my mom.
Montgomery was a TOTAL name nerd! Several of her characters muse on names in different stories and there was a mother in Anne of the Island who was very insistent that her son Jacob St Claire ___ be called St Claire. The boy was very insistent that he should be called Jacob by his teacher and Jake by the boys.
All of her characters are beautifully named and characterized to the point where she imbues classic, ordinary names like Matthew, James, and Paul with glamour from the strength of the people she imagined would wear them. Valancy even has a character arc of shedding the awful nickname of “Doss” and emerging as Valancy Stirling.
I love Valancy, but only because of “The Blue Castle” – otherwise I’d probably think it was a pretty strange name.
I went to university with a Valencia, and sometimes I itched to re-name her Valancy.
I also new a Valencia in highschool which is probably why Valency isn’t so off the wall for me. I’m also a chemist so the chemistry term is familiar as well.