UK girl's name
Valery
A feminine name of French origin meaning "strength, valour".
For 2026, the newest official UK baby-name figures on this page are from 2022. That release is the current official benchmark rather than a forecast.
Valery is a girl's name in the UK records. People looking for Valery popularity in 2026 should use the latest official release, which is 2022 in this profile. In that release it ranked #3970, with 5 babies registered with the name. Its strongest year in the published records was 2011, with 8 births.
This profile covers 19 England and Wales registrations across 4 recorded years from 2011 to 2022. The figures come from ONS England and Wales, so the page is a view of published baby-name registrations rather than a forecast or a live count of people using the name today.
The latest count is about 63% of the recorded peak, which gives a quick read on how the name has moved since its high point.
We estimate that about 19 living people in the UK are called Valery. This uses published birth registrations from England and Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, then applies ONS national life tables to estimate how many are likely still alive. It does not forecast extra births for 2023 or 2026.
Key insights
- • Valery ranked #3970 for girls in England and Wales in 2022, with 5 registrations.
- • The name peaked in 2011, when 8 girls were registered as Valery.
- • About 19 living people in the UK are estimated to have Valery as a first name, after adjusting past birth registrations with ONS life tables.
Latest rank (E&W)
#3970
2022
Births in 2022
5
Latest year
Peak year
2011
8 births
Estimated living
19
2026
Meaning
What does Valery mean?
The name Valery has its roots in the Latin name Valerius, which was derived from the word "valere" meaning "to be strong" or "to be well." It is a masculine name that has been in use since ancient Roman times.
During the Roman era, the name Valerius was borne by several notable individuals, including the Roman emperor Valerius Messalla Corvinus, who lived from 64 BC to 8 AD. Another famous bearer of the name was the Roman poet and satirist Valerius Martial, who lived from 38/41 AD to 102/104 AD and is known for his witty and often biting epigrams.
As the Roman Empire expanded, the name Valerius and its variants spread across Europe. In the Middle Ages, the name took on various forms in different regions, such as Valery in France and Valeri in Italy.
One of the earliest recorded bearers of the name Valery was Saint Valery, a 7th-century Frankish abbot and missionary who founded the Monastery of Leuconaus in northern France. His life and work were documented in the 9th-century hagiography "Vita Sancti Valerii."
Another notable figure named Valery was Valery the Great, a Byzantine philosopher and mystic who lived in the 6th century AD. He is revered as a saint in the Eastern Orthodox Church and is remembered for his contributions to the development of hesychasm, a spiritual tradition focused on inner stillness and prayer.
In the 19th century, the name Valery gained literary prominence through the French poet and essayist Paul Valéry, who lived from 1871 to 1945. Known for his philosophical and introspective works, he is considered one of the most influential figures in modern French literature.
The Russian composer Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, who lived from 1840 to 1893, had a brother named Valery. Valery Tchaikovsky was also a musician and served as the director of the Moscow Conservatory.
Another notable bearer of the name was Valery Giscard d'Estaing, the former President of France who served from 1974 to 1981. He played a significant role in the European integration process and is remembered for his economic and social reforms.
Sourced from namecensus.com.
Popularity
Valery over time
The chart below shows babies named Valery registered in England and Wales in the years where the name appears in the published records, from 2011 to 2022. Empty years are left out so rare names are not stretched across long periods where the published files do not show any registrations.
For Valery, the clearest high point is 2011. The latest England and Wales figure is 5 births in 2022, compared with 8 at the peak.
Babies born per year
Decades
Valery by decade
Decade totals smooth out the yearly jumps and make it easier to see whether Valery was a short-lived spike or a name that stayed in regular use. Average rank is calculated only from years where a published rank exists.
| Decade | Average rank | Total births | Years covered |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | #3970 | 5 | 1 |
| 2010s | #4800 | 14 | 3 |
Related
Names similar to Valery
- Victoria 19,582
- Violet 14,594
- Vanessa 3,696
- Verity 3,437
- Valentina 2,969
- Vienna 2,077
- Vivienne 1,692
- Veronica 1,425
- Valerie 733
- Viktoria 696
- Vera 667
- Vivian 619
FAQ
Valery: questions and answers
How popular is the name Valery in the UK right now?
In 2022, Valery was ranked #3970 for girls in England and Wales, with 5 births registered.
When was Valery most popular?
The peak year on record was 2011, with 8 babies registered as Valery in England and Wales.
What is the meaning and origin of Valery?
A feminine name of French origin meaning "strength, valour".
How many people are called Valery in the UK?
A total of 19 babies have been registered as Valery across the 4 years of ONS England & Wales records shown here.
Which records is this page based on?
The England and Wales timeline uses ONS baby-name records. Scotland figures come from NRS and Northern Ireland figures come from NISRA. Counts are registrations in published baby-name files. The living estimate uses those birth registrations with ONS national life tables.