How popular is the baby name Valentina 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 Valentina.

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Popularity of the baby name Valentina


Posts that mention the name Valentina

What gave the baby name Valentina a boost in 1963?

Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova
Valentina Tereshkova

According to the U.S. baby name data, the name Valentina saw an uptick in usage in 1963:

  • 1965: 87 baby girls named Valentina
  • 1964: 86 baby girls named Valentina
  • 1963: 95 baby girls named Valentina
  • 1962: 63 baby girls named Valentina
  • 1961: 62 baby girls named Valentina

That was the year 26-year-old Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman to travel into space.

In 1963, from June 16 to 19, Tereshkova spent more than 70 hours in space. She orbited the Earth 48 times in her Vostok 6 capsule before returning.

Her successful flight made headlines worldwide. U.S. newspapers described Valentina Tereshkova as “a tomboyish blonde with a winning smile,” and dubbed her a “cosmonette.”

The Vostok program (1960-1963) was the USSR’s answer to the Mercury program (1958-1963) in that both programs were created to put humans in space. Russia’s first cosmonaut was Yuri Gagarin; America’s first astronaut was Alan Shepard.

The U.S. didn’t send a woman into space until June of 1983, when Sally Ride flew aboard the space shuttle Challenger. (This event may have given a slight boost to the baby name Sally, though it’s hard to tell.)

What are your thoughts on the baby name Valentina?

Sources:

Top lengths of U.S. baby names in 2022

Which lengths were the most and least popular for U.S. baby names in 2022?

Top length for girl names: 6 letters

For baby girls, the most-used length was 6 letters, followed by 5 and 7.

Top lengths for U.S. baby girl names, 2022

The most popular girl names per length were…

  • 2 letters (given to over 200 baby girls): Jo, An, Bo, Zo
  • 3 letters (over 58,300): Ava, Mia, Zoe, Ivy
  • 4 letters (over 227,100): Emma, Luna, Mila, Aria
  • 5 letters (over 351,100): Sofia, Emily, Chloe, Avery
  • 6 letters (over 464,600): Olivia, Amelia, Sophia, Evelyn
  • 7 letters (over 306,400): Eleanor, Abigail, Madison, Lillian
  • 8 letters (over 141,400): Isabella, Scarlett, Penelope, Victoria
  • 9 letters (over 70,700): Charlotte, Elizabeth, Valentina, Josephine
  • 10 letters (over 7,800): Evangeline, Alessandra, Alexandria, Jacqueline
  • 11 letters (over 300): Christianna, Anavictoria, Oliviagrace, Mariaisabel
  • 12 letters (90): Marymargaret
  • 13 letters (over 100): Oluwadarasimi
  • 14 letters (19): Elizabethgrace/Mariadelcarmen (tie)
  • 15 letters (5): Sophiaelizabeth

Top length for boy names: 6 letters

For baby boys, the most-used length was also 6 letters, followed by 5 and 4.

Top lengths for U.S. baby boy names, 2022

The most popular boy names per length were…

  • 2 letters (given to over 1,700 baby boys): Bo, Ty, Aj, Cy
  • 3 letters (over 52,300): Leo, Kai, Eli, Ian
  • 4 letters (over 294,400): Liam, Noah, Levi, Jack
  • 5 letters (over 452,900): James, Henry, Lucas, Mateo
  • 6 letters (over 509,300): Oliver, Elijah, Daniel, Samuel
  • 7 letters (over 261,500): William, Michael, Jackson, Gabriel
  • 8 letters (over 107,300): Benjamin, Theodore, Maverick, Santiago
  • 9 letters (over 41,500): Sebastian, Alexander, Christian, Nathaniel
  • 10 letters (over 3,700): Alessandro, Maximilian, Kristopher, Montgomery
  • 11 letters (over 7,700): Christopher, Maximiliano, Abdulrahman/Constantine/Muhammadali (3-way tie)
  • 12 letters (over 200): Michelangelo
  • 13 letters (over 100): Muhammadyusuf
  • 14 letters (11): Michaelanthony
  • 15 letters (7): Muhammadibrahim

Source: SSA

Top first letters of U.S. baby names in 2022

Which first letters were the most and least popular for U.S. baby names in 2022?

Top first letters for girl names: A, E, M

For baby girls, the most-used first letter was A, followed by E and M. The least-used first letter was U.

Top first letters for U.S. baby girl names, 2022

The most popular girl names per letter were…

  • A-names (given to over 267,800 baby girls): Amelia, Ava, Aria, Abigail
  • B-names (over 47,600): Brooklyn, Bella, Brielle, Blakely
  • C-names (over 91,300): Charlotte, Camila, Chloe, Claire
  • D-names (over 41,500): Delilah, Daisy, Diana, Delaney
  • E-names (over 154,200): Emma, Evelyn, Elizabeth, Eleanor
  • F-names (over 17,000): Freya, Faith, Finley, Fatima
  • G-names (over 41,500): Gianna, Grace, Genesis, Gabriella
  • H-names (over 55,000): Harper, Hazel, Hannah, Hailey
  • I-names (over 46,000): Isabella, Isla, Ivy, Iris
  • J-names (over 71,600): Josephine, Jade, Julia, Juniper
  • K-names (over 86,400): Kinsley, Kennedy, Kehlani, Kaylee
  • L-names (over 118,000): Luna, Layla, Lily, Lucy
  • M-names (over 147,000): Mia, Mila, Madison, Maya
  • N-names (over 59,400): Nora, Nova, Naomi, Natalie
  • O-names (over 30,500): Olivia, Oakley, Olive, Oaklynn
  • P-names (over 36,600): Penelope, Paisley, Piper, Parker
  • Q-names (over 4,000): Quinn, Quincy, Queen, Quinley
  • R-names (over 74,200): Riley, Ruby, Raelynn, Rylee
  • S-names (over 119,300): Sophia, Sofia, Scarlett, Stella
  • T-names (over 23,500): Taylor, Tatum, Teagan, Thea
  • U-names (over 600): Unique, Uma, Una, Unity
  • V-names (over 34,700): Violet, Victoria, Valentina, Vivian
  • W-names (over 16,100): Willow, Wren, Wrenley, Winter
  • X-names (over 4,900): Ximena, Xiomara, Xyla, Xena
  • Y-names (over 9,100): Yaretzi, Yara, Yareli, Yamileth
  • Z-names (over 29,500): Zoe, Zoey, Zuri, Zara

Top first letters for boy names: J, A, L

For baby boys, the most-used first letter was J, followed by A and L. The least-used first letter was U.

Top first letters for U.S. baby boy names, 2022

The most popular boy names per letter were…

  • A-names (given to over 181,000 baby boys): Alexander, Asher, Aiden, Anthony
  • B-names (over 82,300): Benjamin, Brooks, Bennett, Beau
  • C-names (over 121,500): Carter, Charles, Caleb, Cooper
  • D-names (over 84,000): Daniel, David, Dylan, Dominic
  • E-names (over 109,900): Elijah, Ethan, Ezra, Elias
  • F-names (over 20,500): Finn, Felix, Finley, Francisco
  • G-names (over 51,500): Gabriel, Grayson, Greyson, Gael
  • H-names (over 50,000): Henry, Hudson, Hunter, Harrison
  • I-names (over 32,300): Isaac, Isaiah, Ian, Ivan
  • J-names (over 195,800): James, Jack, Jackson, John
  • K-names (over 94,800): Kai, Kayden, Kingston, Kaiden
  • L-names (over 132,400): Liam, Lucas, Levi, Leo
  • M-names (over 128,900): Mateo, Michael, Mason, Matthew
  • N-names (over 56,200): Noah, Nathan, Nolan, Nicholas
  • O-names (over 40,500): Oliver, Owen, Oscar, Omar
  • P-names (over 23,100): Parker, Peter, Patrick, Preston
  • Q-names (over 2,800): Quinn, Quentin, Quincy, Quinton
  • R-names (over 82,200): Roman, Ryan, Robert, Rowan
  • S-names (over 73,500): Sebastian, Samuel, Santiago, Silas
  • T-names (over 61,100): Theodore, Thomas, Theo, Thiago
  • U-names (over 2,600): Uriel, Uriah, Ulises, Ulysses
  • V-names (over 11,100): Vincent, Victor, Valentino, Vicente/Vincenzo (tie)
  • W-names (over 50,300): William, Wyatt, Waylon, Wesley
  • X-names (over 7,000): Xavier, Xander, Xzavier, Xavion
  • Y-names (over 9,000): Yusuf, Yosef, Yehuda, Yahir
  • Z-names (over 27,600): Zion, Zachary, Zayden, Zane

Source: SSA

Girl names on the rise in the U.S. in 2022

hot air balloons

Which girl names increased in usage the most from 2021 to 2022?

Here’s a table of the fastest-rising girl names of 2022. On the left are the top 25 increases in terms of absolute change (number of babies). On the right are the top 25 increases in terms of relative change (percentage of babies).

RankGirl nameAbsolute riseGirl nameRelative rise
1Violet926Debanhi1,164%
2Luna706Yailin562%
3Scarlett606Ailen447%
4Alora505Devani383%
5Millie490Kenedi383%
6Wrenley486Hadasha380%
7Juniper476Namari357%
8Lainey465Harnaaz350%
9Aurora451Mirabel350%
10Valentina417Soriah342%
11Maeve406Kieran288%
12Isabella400Audyn286%
13Ivy386Noeli286%
14Oaklynn381Eloa283%
15Wren371Jatziry280%
16Leilani358Adaia277%
17Lily351Xiah267%
18Eloise345Azaleia260%
19Iris344Falaq260%
20Eliana336Hava260%
21Nova336Giovana257%
22Sage328Parklyn257%
23Oakley302Kaeli255%
24Freya301Wateen255%
25Athena300Ketzaly*250%

*Also at 250% were Menna and Mills.

Violet, Luna, and several other names were also among the fastest-rising names (absolute change) in 2021.

A couple of possible explanations for the relative rises…

  • Debanhi Escobar was an 18-year-old Mexican woman who was murdered in April of 2022.
  • Yailin La Más Viral (transl. “the most viral”) is a female rapper from the Dominican Republic. (Her legal first name is Jorgina.)

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

Image: Adapted from Turkey-2036 by Dennis Jarvis under CC BY-SA 2.0.