How popular is the baby name Valens in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Valens.

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Popularity of the baby name Valens


Posts that mention the name Valens

Boy names that debuted in the U.S. baby name data in 2023

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Which boy names emerged in the U.S. baby name data in 2023 for the first time ever?

A total of 583 boy names debuted in the data last year, and the most impressive debut was made by Kaiyr. Here are the top debuts overall:

  1. Kaiyr, 40 baby boys
  2. Neteyam, 38
  3. Tulsen, 21
  4. Aire, 20
  5. Shubhdeep, 19
  6. Rhyzen, 18
  7. Aysun, 17
  8. Zakyius, 16
  9. Kalias, 15
  10. Namor, 14
  11. Takrim, 14
  12. Yeider, 14

Aire comes from a celebrity baby name-change. (In February of 2022, Kylie Jenner and Travis Scott had a baby boy initially named Wolf. In January of 2023, Kylie announced via Instagram that the baby was now called Aire — pronounced just like the word air — and his name was legally changed several months later.)

Namor is a character from the 2022 movie Black Panther: Wakanda Forever. (He’s the cousin of Namora, whose name debuted last year as well.)

Here are some more debuts:

13 baby boysAhsaias, Azaias, Azire, Syxx
12 baby boysAmiree, Elhan, Emiri, Jacaerys, Mazieon
11 baby boysAzaylion, Chrome, Deivis, Iceland, Jahani, Jeyler, Kaizir, Kassaius, Khozen, Muhammadyasin, Rizen, Shedeur, Yeiler
10 baby boysEthic, Hassiah, Jazaire, Keyder, Masani, Shritik, Yoridan

College football player Shedeur Sanders drew people’s attention to the obscure biblical name Shedeur last year. I have to imagine a lot of the usage was in Colorado, as Shedeur is the quarterback of the Colorado Buffaloes. (His famous father, Deion Sanders, is the Buffaloes’ head coach.)

Finally, here’s a sampling of the rest of the debuts:

  • 9 baby boys: Aemond, Jesser, Kervenson, Rookie, Yefry
  • 8 baby boys: Anirved, Bakhari, Forge, Irham, Kazari, Khimir, Noen, Roic, Royalton, Thorfinn
  • 7 baby boys: Access, Daecari, Essiel, Izir, Jerze, Kaziel, Mezekiah, Nine, Omavi, Riggsley, Rza, Sullen, Varrick, Viserys, Yoakin
  • 6 baby boys: Ahzai, Aider, Bolt, Camoni, Deriam, Divino, Etson, Everyx, Jakoa, Kotah, Leonhart, Maazin, Murillo, Nkai, Olympus, Richarlison, Rifton, Safa, Valens
  • 5 baby boys: Alador, Atigun, Bayou, Bregman, Camino, Damazi, Dawensley, Endry, Ezdan, Franciel, Gudiel, Hazer, Islo, Jhonjairo, Kasden, Menua, Mictlan, Nyte, Oviyan, Pine, Remzi, Sviatoslav, Tecuani, Trophy, Widley, Yasani, Zusha

Thorfinn is a character in the Japanese anime Vinland Saga, and Varrick might come from a character in The Legend of Korra.

Rza comes from celebrity baby RZA, the son of Rihanna and ASAP Rocky. He was born in May of 2022, but his name — inspired by Wu-Tang rapper RZA, whose stage name is pronounced RIZ-uh — wasn’t revealed until May of 2023.

Viserys comes from a character in the TV series House of the Dragon.

Murillo and Richarlison are professional soccer players (both originally from Brazil).

Bregman is likely from baseball player Alex Bregman, who helped the Houston Astros win the World Series in late 2022. My guess is that the usage was mostly (perhaps entirely?) in Texas.

(A few extra facts: Atigun is a river in Alaska, Mictlan is the “land of the dead” in Aztec mythology, and Tecuani is a Nahuatl word often translated as “jaguar,” though it can refer to any non-human creature that bites.)

If you can explain any of the other debuts, please leave a comment!

Sources: SSA, Wikipedia, Online Nahuatl Dictionary

Image: Adapted from LotusBud0048a (public domain) by Frank “Fg2” Gualtieri

60 Unique male saint names: Ariston, Cassian, Conon, Fintan…

You’re looking for a cool, uncommon saint name…but you haven’t had much luck.

Augustine’s not up your alley. Francis is too old fashioned. And how many people are really going to get “Aloysius” right on the first try?

I scoured the Roman Martyrology for 60 male saint names that might appeal to modern parents.

Because nearly all of the names refer to multiple saints, I didn’t bother with extra details like feast days. I did throw in a few nickname ideas, though.

  1. St. Alban.
  2. St. Amand, also known as Amandus.
  3. St. Ammon.
  4. St. Ananias.
  5. St. Ariston. Riston, Aris, Ari.
  6. St. Attalus.
  7. St. Audax, which means “daring, bold” in Latin. Dax, Audy.
  8. St. Azarias.
  9. St. Bretannio. Bret, Bretan.
  10. St. Cassian. Cash.
  11. St. Colman. Cole.
  12. St. Columban.
  13. St. Conon
  14. St. Corebus. Cory.
  15. St. Cyrion.
  16. St. Damasus.
  17. St. Davinus. Dave, Davy, Davin.
  18. St. Domitian. Dom.
  19. St. Emilian. Emil.
  20. St. Fintan. Fin.
  21. St. Galdinus, or the Italian form Galdino.
  22. St. Gavinus. Gavin.
  23. St. Gereon. Gerry.
  24. St. Gerinus. Gerry, Gerin.
  25. St. Gordian. Gordy.
  26. St. Hadrian…nope, not the Roman Emperor. Different guy.
  27. St. Ignatius. Nate, Iggy.
  28. St. Kilian, also spelled Killian.
  29. St. Leander. Andy, Lee.
  30. St. Leontius. Leon, Leo.
  31. St. Macarius. Mac.
  32. St. Magnus.
  33. St. Malchus. Mal.
  34. St. Marcellin. Marcel, Marce.
  35. St. Marcellus. Marcel, Marce.
  36. St. Maxentius. Max.
  37. St. Maximian. Max.
  38. St. Mellitus. Mel.
  39. St. Nazarius. Naz.
  40. St. Nicander. Nic, Andy.
  41. St. Nicanor. Nic.
  42. St. Nilus.
  43. St. Octavian. Tavian, Tave, Tavy.
  44. St. Remigius, or the French form Rémy. Remi.
  45. St. Romulus, or the Italian form Romolo. Rom, Romy.
  46. St. Sabbas, also spelled Sabas.
  47. St. Sennen.
  48. St. Sergius, or the more familiar form Sergio. Serge.
  49. St. Severin. Sev.
  50. St. Straton.
  51. St. Swithin.
  52. St. Theonas. Theo.
  53. St. Thrason.
  54. St. Thyrsus.
  55. St. Timon. Tim, Timmy.
  56. St. Tryphon.
  57. St. Tychon.
  58. St. Valens. Val.
  59. St. Verian.
  60. St. Zenas. Zen.

Killian is the only saint name on the list that has ranked among the top 1,000 baby names in the nation within the last 100 years. (The single-L version has never ranked, though.)

Did you see any names you liked?

And, do you know of any good ones that I missed?

Update, June 2014: Just posted about another unique male saint name, Cono.