Name Awesome

Val

#4,691 in 2025UnisexBoys' nameGirls' name

Short form of Valentine

Val has been given to 7,406 babies in the U.S. since 1882. In 2025 it ranked #4,691 of 13,926 boys’ names in use. Its peak year was 1952, with 178 recorded. It's used for both sexes: 76% boys, 24% girls all-time.

Babies named Val, 2025

1 in 151,000

Val over time, 1880–2025

BoysGirls
05010015020018801900192019401960198020002020

Based on births in the U.S. Babies given the name each year. Hover the chart — or focus it and use the arrow keys — for any year. Gaps mean the name was given fewer than 5 times that year; these counts are unpublished.

Girls or boys — Val over time

In 2025, Val went to 0% girls and 100% boys.

18822025

A sex is only published in years it reached five applications, so a stretch at 0% or 100% means the other side stayed under that floor — not that it was never used.

Val: meaning, origin, and history

Short form of Valentine

Deeper origin not confirmed in the cited records

What Val means

Val is a short form of Valentine.

Meaning behind the documented name family

Val is a short form of Valentine. Valentine has more than one origin or interpretation.

Origin, language, and formation

Val is used in English.

Related names and everyday forms

Related names include Valentine and Valerie.

Pronunciation and spelling

In English, Val is pronounced /væl/.

American usage and historical context

In the United States, 5,657 boys were recorded with the name Val between 1882 and 2025. Its highest annual count was 178 in 1952; its best national rank was #526 in 1952.

Over 5 years its rank rose, from #11,920 in 2020 to #4,691 in 2025. Over 10 years its rank rose, from #6,647 in 2015 to #4,691 in 2025.

In the United States, 1,749 girls were recorded with the name Val between 1908 and 2024. Its highest annual count was 110 in 1958; its best national rank was #992 in 1958.

Sources & methodologyReferences, data & attribution

Meaning, origin, and language notes draw on the references below.

American popularity figures use published Social Security Administration records for this exact spelling. Counts below five for a name, sex, and year are omitted.

Wiktionary material is available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

How common is Val?

Everything below is computed from the 2025 data — the most recent year available.

Among all babies, 2025
1 in 151,000
22 of 3,315,165 births
Among boys only
1 in 77,600
<0.01% of boys
Rank, 2025
#4,691
of 13,926 boys’ names in use
Coin-flip room size
104,451 kids
Even odds of a second one

Where Val sits on the popularity scale

Rarest published (5 a year)#1 — Liam (20,818)

Chance at least one other child shares the name

If the other children were drawn at random from the 2025 national name distribution. Real classrooms cluster by region and community, so treat these as a floor, not a ceiling.

Class of 20Under 1%
Class of 30Under 1%
Grade of 100Under 1%
School of 500Under 1%

Put another way: gather 104,451 children born in 2025 and it's an even bet that one of them is another Val. In a class of 30 the chance is Under 1%.

When Vals were born

Half of everyone ever recorded as Val was born before 1952 — so the typical Val is around 73 today.

Median birth year
1952
About 73 years old
Biggest decade
1950s
26.1% of all use
Born in the last 25 years
4.8%
Mostly a past generation
Recorded since 1950
3,221
People you could plausibly meet
Choose a decade

1950s — 26.1% of all recorded uses (1,475).

Is Val rising or falling?

Rank movement and count movement can disagree — the number of distinct names in use keeps growing, so a name holding a steady count still slides down the list. Both are shown.

Rank vs 1 year ago
+941
Places climbed
Rank vs 5 years ago
+7,229
Places climbed
Rank vs 10 years ago
+1,956
Places climbed
Births vs 10 years ago
1.69×
More babies than then
Share of its own peak
12.4%
Peak was 1952 (178)
Years since peak
73
Years
Year-to-year steadiness
Volatile
32.5% average annual change
Best rank ever
#526
1952

Where Val is used — boys

Across 1910–2025, Val was most concentrated in Utah — about 1 in 2,041 boys, against 1 in 48,450 across all states with data. It was least common in Oregon (1 in —).

049 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1Utah1 in 2,041
  2. 2Idaho1 in 3,846
  3. 3California1 in 33,333
  4. 4Wyoming1 in 50,000
  5. 5Colorado1 in 100,000
  6. 6Illinois1 in 100,000
  7. 7Louisiana1 in 100,000
  8. 8Michigan1 in 100,000

Shading is the share of that state's recorded boys given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. Val has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Where Val is used — girls

Across 1910–2025, Val was most concentrated in California — about 1 in 100,000 girls, against 1 in 202,102 across all states with data. It was least common in Wisconsin (1 in —).

01 per 100,000

Most concentrated

  1. 1California1 in 100,000
  2. 2Colorado1 in 100,000
  3. 3Michigan1 in 100,000
  4. 4Minnesota1 in 100,000
  5. 5Ohio1 in 100,000
  6. 6Washington1 in 100,000
  7. 7Illinois1 in —
  8. 8Missouri1 in —

Shading is the share of that state's recorded girls given this name, not the raw count — otherwise the map would just show which states are biggest. Unshaded states have no published records for this period. U.S. birth records suppress state-year counts below 5; state counts therefore don't add up to the national total. Every state links to its full rankings. Val has too little recent state data to map, so this covers all years from 1910.

Val around the world

Where Val ranks in official birth records elsewhere in the world. Rankings only — the number of births isn’t comparable between places, so it isn’t shown.

  • South Australia
    1960–1985
    #449
    in 1985

Popularity data from Consumer and Business Services (South Australia). CBS SA data under CC BY 4.0.

Notable people named Val

People whose public names include Val, backed by Wikidata given-name records and ordered by linked Wikimedia pages. The name may be a middle name.

People data from Wikidata (CC0). Fame is measured, not judged — the order reflects how widely each person is documented, not the U.S. birth records popularity this page is otherwise about.

Val in other languages

Cross-language forms and variants of Val. Linked forms have their own page here.

ValaValeValiValoValliValmaValriValeneValensValeriValeriaValerieValdemarValentinaValentineValmoValtrValdasValdesValmirValneaValdrinValdrina

Variant forms from Wikidata (CC0). Most are used mainly outside the United States; U.S. birth records statistics cover US usage only.

Val by the numbers

The raw record for each sex the name is used for.

As a boy's name

Rank in 2025
#4,691
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
Up 7,229
Best rank ever
#526
1952
Peak year
1952
178 that year
First recorded
1882
Last recorded
2025
All-time count
5,657
Count in 2025
22

As a girl's name

Rank in 2025
Unranked
Trend vs 5 yrs ago
—
Best rank ever
#992
1958
Peak year
1958
110 that year
First recorded
1908
Last recorded
2024
All-time count
1,749
Count in 2025
Under 5

Names similar to Val

Matched on shared beginnings and endings, similar length, and comparable popularity.

ValorValenValenteValeOrvalValentinValentineValentinoYuvalVallenValerioValdemarNorvalOvalValonValerianIvalValeryValiantValoValeriePercivalDuvalValton

Names with a curve like Val

Not spelling — timing. These names rose, peaked and faded in the same years as Val, so they read as being from the same moment even when they look nothing alike.

DonnGlynnJerroldGaylonCurtissDennieDwainDannieLawranceWallyDwaineDell

Sibling names for Val

Names from the same era and popularity tier — the two things that make a sibling set feel deliberate — skipping lookalike spellings and shared initials.

Explore around Val

Top names of 1952, Val's peak yearThe 1950s in fullOther names that peaked in 1952Boys' names starting with V