Valentina
Meaning
"strong, healthy," from valens, the root that also gives Valentine; an early martyr's name kept warm for centuries in Italian, Spanish, and Slavic homes, now a Latin American favorite risen worldwide. Val and Tina both fold out of it
Goes by Tina, Val, Valya
The story
Valentina glows with borrowed strength: it is the feminine of the Roman Valentinus, from the Latin for strong and healthy, the same root that gives us Valentine and the word valiant. Its most soaring bearer is Valentina Tereshkova, the Soviet cosmonaut who in 1963 became the first woman in space. For most of the twentieth century the name lived at the far edges of American use, well loved in Italy, Russia and across Latin America but seldom chosen here. That changed dramatically: Valentina began stirring in the 1990s, gathered force through the 2000s, and has soared over the last two decades to the strongest standing it has ever had in this country, riding the same wave that lifted Isabella and Camila. Romantic, international and newly beloved, it is a name whose moment has plainly arrived.
Popularity, 1890–2024
Shape drawn from US Social Security baby-name records. Valentina peaked in the 2020s.
Popularity in Brazil
193,166 people · the #169 first name in Brazil · about 1 in 1,052 · median age 5
Among people named Valentina living in Brazil at the 2022 census, more were born in the 2010s than in any other decade.
The census also counted 68,256 born between 2020 and August 2022, too recent a span to chart.
Source: IBGE, Censo Demográfico 2022
When you meet Valentina
Most people given the name Valentina in the United States are children or teenagers today. The name belongs to this generation.
Estimated from US Social Security birth registrations and typical lifespans; a rough guide, not a rule.
The Valentina deep dive
Whether you’re naming a baby or exploring your own name’s history, this is a personal letter, not a list: where Valentina truly comes from, how it traveled, and what a century of records reveals. If you have grown a tree on nametree, it also considers how Valentina fits with your family’s names and surname.
Where Valentina travels
Italian Argentine · spelled the same in Italian and Spanish, so both sides of an Italian Argentine family claim her
Italian Brazilian · strong, healthy (feminine of Valentino); one of Brazil's most popular girls' names in the 2010s-2020s
Mexican American · a favorite that has surged across Mexican-American families in recent decades
Italian American · a favorite surging across Italian-American families
Italian · strong, healthy (feminine of Valentino)
Global crossover · strong, healthy (feminine of Valentine); a chart-topping name across Italy and Latin America and a fast-rising US name
Keep exploring
Names like Valentina · Nicknames for Valentina · Middle names for Valentina · Italian Argentine baby names · Italian Brazilian baby names · Italian baby names · Global crossover names · Italian American baby names · Spanish baby names · Portuguese and Brazilian baby names · Mexican American baby names
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