How popular is the baby name Valley 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 Valley.

The graph will take a few moments to load. (Don't worry, it shouldn't take 9 months!) If it's taking too long, try reloading the page.


Popularity of the baby name Valley


Posts that mention the name Valley

Girl names on the rise in Canada in 2022

hot air balloons

Which names were the trendiest among baby girls in Canada last year?

Below you’ll find Canada’s fastest-rising and highest-debuting girl names of 2022.

Before we get to the names, though, please note that rises and debuts in the Canadian data aren’t going to be directly comparable to rises and debuts in the U.S. data, because Canada releases much less data than the U.S. does. Canada’s data only goes back to 1991, and only goes down to names given to five more more babies per gender, per year.

(The U.S. baby name data does have a similar 5-baby threshold for inclusion, but the U.S. is nearly nine times larger than Canada in terms of population. To make the cut-offs equivalent, you’d have to increase the U.S. number to something like 45 babies.)

Ok, now that that’s out of the way…

Rises (absolute)

Here are the girl names that saw the biggest increases in usage in terms of absolute change (numbers of babies) from 2021 to 2022:

  1. Millie, rose from 153 to 208 baby girls (+55)
  2. Wren, 233 to 281 (+48) [tie]
  3. Lily, 813 to 861 (+48) [tie]
  4. Ajooni, 53 to 95 (+42)
  5. Selena, 154 to 195 (+41) [3-way tie]
  6. Myla, 163 to 204 (+41) [3-way tie]
  7. Eloise, 324 to 365 (+41) [3-way tie]

Ajooni may have been influenced by the Hindi-language soap opera Ajooni, which aired from mid-2022 to mid-2023 on the Disney-owned TV channel Star Bharat.

Rises (relative)

Here are the girl names that saw the biggest increases in usage in terms of relative change (percentages of babies) from 2021 to 2022:

  1. Harnaaz, rose from 11 to 49 baby girls (345% increase)
  2. Anabia, 8 to 29 (263%)
  3. Lindsey, 6 to 21 (250%) [tie]
  4. Raunak, 6 to 21 (250%) [tie]
  5. Rya, 5 to 17 (240%)

Harnaaz, which was also one of the fast-rising girl names in the U.S. last year, was influenced by beauty queen Harnaaz Sandhu of India. She was crowned Miss Universe in December of 2021.

Debuts

Finally, here are the girl names that debuted most impressively in Canada’s baby name data in 2022:

  1. Cirilla, 17 baby girls
  2. Halston, 13
  3. Hiraya, 12
  4. Wrenlee, 11 [tie]
  5. Ozzy, 11 [tie]

Cirilla was no doubt inspired by the character Princess Cirilla from The Witcher, which began as a series of fantasy novels, but has since been made into a Netflix series (among other things). Cirilla debuted in the U.S. data in 2016 with about the same number of babies, interestingly.

Other girl-name debuts included Laramie (6), Peach (6), Winslet (6), and Valley (5).

And, just in case you’re curious about the decreases, Canada’s fastest-falling girl names in terms of absolute change were Olivia, Ava, and Emma, and in terms of relative change were Tiaraoluwa, Addisyn, and Kaila.

Sources: First names at birth by sex at birth, selected indicators (Number) – Statistics Canada, Baby Names Observatory – Statistics Canada

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

Popular baby names in England and Wales (UK), 2021

Flag of the United Kingdom
Flag of the United Kingdom

Last year, England and Wales welcomed close to 625,000 babies.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Olivia and Noah.

Here are England and Wales’ top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2021:

Girl Names

  1. Olivia, 3,649 baby girls
  2. Amelia, 3,164
  3. Isla, 2,683
  4. Ava, 2,576
  5. Ivy, 2,245
  6. Freya, 2,187
  7. Lily, 2,182
  8. Florence, 2,180
  9. Mia, 2,168
  10. Willow, 2,067
  11. Rosie, 2,028
  12. Sophia, 2,019
  13. Isabella, 2,010
  14. Grace, 1,992
  15. Daisy, 1,873
  16. Sienna, 1,869
  17. Poppy, 1,841
  18. Elsie, 1,840
  19. Emily, 1,797
  20. Ella, 1,756
  21. Evelyn, 1,729
  22. Phoebe, 1,678
  23. Sofia, 1,671
  24. Evie, 1,670
  25. Charlotte, 1,654
  26. Harper, 1,480
  27. Millie, 1,472
  28. Matilda, 1,437
  29. Maya, 1,433
  30. Sophie, 1,375
  31. Alice, 1,359
  32. Emilia, 1,353
  33. Isabelle, 1,304
  34. Ruby, 1,300
  35. Luna, 1,261
  36. Maisie, 1,229
  37. Aria, 1,202
  38. Penelope, 1,194
  39. Mila, 1,133
  40. Bonnie, 1,121
  41. Eva, 1,091
  42. Hallie, 1,070
  43. Eliza, 1,064
  44. Ada, 1,058
  45. Violet, 1,057
  46. Esme, 1,013
  47. Arabella, 1,012
  48. Imogen, 998
  49. Jessica, 997
  50. Delilah, 981

Boy Names

  1. Noah, 4,525 baby boys
  2. Oliver, 4,167
  3. George, 4,141
  4. Arthur, 3,766
  5. Muhammad, 3,722
  6. Leo, 3,465
  7. Harry, 3,089
  8. Oscar, 3,071
  9. Archie, 2,928
  10. Henry, 2,912
  11. Theodore, 2,889
  12. Freddie, 2,873
  13. Jack, 2,847
  14. Charlie, 2,674
  15. Theo, 2,514
  16. Alfie, 2,338
  17. Jacob, 2,319
  18. Thomas, 2,302
  19. Finley, 2,283
  20. Arlo, 2,154
  21. William, 2,093
  22. Lucas, 1,965
  23. Roman, 1,923
  24. Tommy, 1,901
  25. Isaac, 1,888
  26. Teddy, 1,875
  27. Alexander, 1,830
  28. Luca, 1,807
  29. Edward, 1,806
  30. James, 1,772
  31. Joshua, 1,737
  32. Albie, 1,729
  33. Elijah, 1,657
  34. Max, 1,650
  35. Mohammed, 1,619
  36. Reuben, 1,534
  37. Mason, 1,517
  38. Sebastian, 1,516
  39. Rory, 1,483
  40. Jude, 1,482
  41. Louie, 1,461
  42. Benjamin, 1,423
  43. Ethan, 1,398
  44. Adam, 1,367
  45. Hugo, 1,325
  46. Joseph, 1,307
  47. Reggie, 1,287
  48. Ronnie, 1,285
  49. Harrison, 1,254
  50. Louis, 1,240

Two of the names that saw marked increases in usage last year, Luca and Raya, were helped along by the animated films Luca (2021) and Raya and the Last Dragon (2021).

And the name Lilibet re-surfaced in the data (after a seven-year absence) with eight baby girls, no doubt thanks to the royal influence of Prince Harry’s daughter Lilibet, who was born in California in June of 2021.

Map of the nine regions of England
England’s nine regions

Home to nearly 56.5 million people, England is divided into nine regions. The top baby names within each of these regions last year were…

Girl NamesBoy Names
North East
(4.6% of the population)		1. Olivia, 167
2. Rosie, 137
3. Freya, 136
4. Isla, 135
5. Amelia, 129		1. George, 211
2. Oliver, 208
3. Noah, 188
4. Harry, 186
5. Charlie, 166
North West
(13.1% of pop.)		1. Olivia, 460
2. Isla, 373
3. Ava, 347
4. Amelia, 338
5. Ivy, 308		1. Muhammad, 875
2. Noah, 616
3. George, 603
4. Oliver, 584
5. Harry, 508
Yorkshire & the Humber
(9.7% of pop.)		1. Olivia, 298
2. Amelia, 272
3. Ava, 256
4. Isla, 230
5. Ivy, 222		1. Muhammad, 669
2. Noah, 449
3. Oliver, 415
4. George, 402
5. Arthur, 340
East Midlands
(8.7% of pop.)		1. Amelia, 288
2. Olivia, 281
3. Ava, 214
4. Isla, 206
5. Elsie/Mia, 200 (tie)		1. Oliver, 386
2. George, 378
3. Noah, 363
4. Harry, 302
5. Arthur, 298
West Midlands
(10.6% of pop.)		1. Olivia, 356
2. Amelia, 342
3. Isla, 234
4. Freya, 230
5. Ava, 228		1. Muhammad, 667
2. Noah, 447
3. Oliver, 378
4. Arthur, 362
5. George, 352
East
(11.2% of pop.)		1. Olivia, 478
2. Amelia, 371
3. Isla, 337
4. Ava, 323
5. Ivy, 281		1. George, 539
2. Noah, 499
3. Oliver, 497
4. Arthur, 464
5. Leo, 426
London
(15.6% of pop.)		1. Olivia, 459
2. Amelia, 455
3. Mia, 402
4. Sofia, 392
5. Maya, 383		1. Muhammad, 689
2. Noah, 626
3. Leo, 507
4. Adam, 429
5. Alexander, 407
South East
(16.5% of pop.)		1. Olivia, 615
2. Amelia, 546
3. Isla, 465
4. Ava, 454
5. Florence, 447		1. George, 729
2. Arthur, 701
3. Oliver, 693
4. Noah, 651
5. Henry, 609
South West
(10.1% of pop.)		1. Olivia, 360
2. Isla, 287
3. Florence, 277
4. Amelia, 259
5. Willow, 233		1. Arthur, 459
2. Noah, 410
3. George, 400
4. Oliver, 394
5. Oscar, 369

Wales, a separate country within the United Kingdom, is home to more than 3.1 million people. The top 10 names per gender in Wales last year were…

Girl Names (Wales)Boy Names (Wales)
1. Olivia, 173
2. Amelia, 164
3. Isla, 126
4. Freya, 114
5. Ivy 112 (tie)
6. Rosie, 112 (tie)
7. Ava, 110
8. Grace, 109
9. Lily, 107
10. Evie, 106		1. Noah, 275
2. Oliver, 213
3. Arthur, 186
4. Theo, 170
5. Leo, 168
6. Charlie, 156
7. Archie, 154
8. George, 152
9. Jack, 136
10. Oscar, 135

Welsh-origin names in that ranked within Wales’ top 100 included…

  • Girl names: Alys, Ffion, Seren, Eira, Mabli, Cadi, Eleri
  • Boy names: Osian, Elis, Macsen, Cai, Morgan, Gruffydd, Rhys

Now it’s time for a selection of names from the other end of the spectrum. Each of the rare names below was given to just 3 babies in England and Wales in 2021:

Rare Girl NamesRare Boy Names
Avesta, Branwen, Callisto, Dwynwen, Elliw, Fenne, Gwenlli, Hestia, Isidora, Jogaile, Kerenza, Lubaba, Monia, Nepheli, Orzala, Petruta, Ruari, Siri, Thisbe, Uriella, Valley, Wilder, Xana, Yris, ZelalAudie, Buddy-Bear, Cuthbert, Deaglan, Emeric, Finlo, Glyndwr, Horace, Ibrar, Johnboy, Kerr, Leofric, Madoc, Nazar, Ovi, Porter, Ranulph, Sirius, Teifion, Urhan, Vladut, Warwick, Xion, Yavuz, Zuko
  • Dwynwen is the name of the Welsh patron saint of lovers. St. Dwynwen’s Day, the Welsh version of St. Valentine’s Day, is celebrated on January 25th.
  • Glyndwr is a reference to Welsh nobleman Owain Glyndwr, who led the Welsh Revolt (1400-1415) against the Kingdom of England.
  • Teifion is based on the name of the River Teifi.

Finally, here’s a link to England and Wales’ 2020 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

P.S. The ongoing rise of the baby name Mabel accelerated in the late 2010s thanks to mononymous English singer/songwriter Mabel — who just so happens to be the niece of Eagle-Eye Cherry.

Sources (all ONS):

Image: Adapted from Flag of the United Kingdom (public domain)
Map: Adapted from English regions 2009 by Nilfanion and Dr Greg under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Baby names in the news: Kent, Valley, Nolan

Some recent and not-so-recent baby names from the news…

Kent: A baby boy born in Michigan in September of 2020 while his parents were on their way to the hospital was named Nolan Kent — middle name after the road on which he was born. (Fox 2, via Clare’s Name News)

Nolan: A baby boy born in St. Louis on April 8, 2021 — St. Louis Cardinals opening day — was named Nolan after baseball player Nolan Arenado. The name was chosen just after his parents heard sports broadcaster Dan McLaughlin say (during the 8th inning): “Arenado, a drive, deep left, at the wall! Welcome to St. Louis, Nolan!” (FOX2now)

Valley: A baby girl born in February of 2021 in Louisiana, in the parking lot of a nursing home called Valley View, was named Ariana Valley. (KALB)

Over 100 baby names for 100 years of the U.S. National Park Service

Grand Canyon National Park poster (NPS)
Grand Canyon National Park poster

The U.S. National Park Service has a birthday coming up!

When the NPS was created on August 25, 1916, there were only 35 national parks and monuments. (The world’s first, Yellowstone, had been established in 1872.)

Nowadays the agency oversees 411 units. These units are located in the 50 states and beyond, and include national monuments (82), national historic sites (78), national parks (59), national historical parks (50), national memorials (30), national battlefields (11), national seashores (10), national lakeshores (4), national scenic trails (3), and more.

Let’s celebrate the upcoming centennial with more than 100 baby names that pay tribute to the national parks specifically:

Lassen Volcanic National Park poster (NPS)
Lassen Volcanic National Park poster
  • Garland for Garland County, Arkansas, where Hot Springs National Park is located.
  • Gates for Gates of the Arctic National Park & Preserve.
  • Guadalupe for Guadalupe Mountains National Park.
  • Gunnison for Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.
    • The park was established in 1999, and Gunnison debuted on the baby name charts the very same year. Did one event cause the other?
  • Jackson for Jackson Hole, where much of Grand Teton National Park is located.
  • Jarvis for Wrangell-St. Elias National Park & Preserve’s Mt. Jarvis.
  • Jefferson for Dry Tortugas National Park’s Fort Jefferson.
  • John for Virgin Islands National Park’s St. John Island.
  • Joshua for Joshua Tree National Park.
  • Kenai for Kenai Fjords National Park.
    • The derivation of Kenai is unknown, but it could come from either Dena’ina Athabascan (“big flat” or “two big flats and river cut-back” or “trees and brush in a swampy marsh”), Russian (“flat barren land”), or Iniut (“black bear”).
  • Kingston or Kingsley for Kings Canyon National Park.
  • Lake for any of the parks featuring lakes, such as Crater Lake National Park, Voyageurs National Park, Lake Clark National Park & Preserve, etc.
  • Lamar for Yellowstone National Park’s Lamar Buffalo Ranch.
  • Lassen for Lassen Volcanic National Park.
  • Lata for the National Park of American Samoa’s Lata Mountain.
  • Lehman for Great Basin National Park’s Lehman Caves.
  • Lewis for Glacier National Park’s Lewis Range.
  • Livingston for Glacier National Park’s Livingston Range.
  • Manning for Saguaro National Park’s Manning Cabin.
  • Mara for Joshua Tree National Park’s Oasis of Mara.
    • In the Serrano language, Mara means “the place of little springs and much grass.”
  • Martin for Katmai National Park & Preserve’s Mt. Martin.
  • Maui for the island of Maui, where Haleakala National Park is located.
  • Mauna for Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park’s Mauna Loa.
  • Miguel for Channel Islands National Park’s San Miguel Island.
  • Olympia for Olympic National Park.
Zion National Park poster (NPS)
Zion National Park poster
  • Parker, Parks, Park, or Parke as a tribute to all national parks.
  • Pele as a symbol of Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park.
  • Prairie for any of the parks featuring a prairie, such as Badlands National Park, Theodore Roosevelt National Park, etc.
  • Pratt for Guadalupe Mountains National Park’s Pratt Cabin.
  • Rainier for Mount Rainier National Park.
  • Ranger as a tribute to all national parks and park rangers.
  • Reef for Capitol Reef National Park.
  • Rhodes for Biscayne National Park’s Old Rhodes Key.
  • Rocky for Rocky Mountain National Park.
  • Roosevelt for Theodore Roosevelt National Park.
  • Rosa for Channel Islands National Park’s Santa Rosa Island.
  • Royale or Royal for Isle Royale National Park.
  • Valley for any of the parks featuring a valley, such as Cuyahoga Valley, Death Valley, Kobuk Valley, etc.
  • Verda or Verdell for Mesa Verde National Park.
  • Virginia for Virgin Islands National Park.
  • Zion for Zion National Park.

For all you national park lovers out there: What other park-inspired names can you come up with?

P.S. I just learned (Nov. 2024) that the Utah Hockey Club has adopted a Labrador retriever puppy named Archie after Arches National Park, located near Moab. :)

Sources:

Images (all from the LOC): Grand Canyon National Park poster, Lassen Volcanic National Park poster, Zion National Park poster

[Latest update: Nov. 2024]