Valerie (given name)

Valerie is generally a feminine given name, derived directly from the French Valérie (a traditionally female name). Valéry or Valery is a masculine given name in parts of Europe (particularly in France and Russia), as well as a common surname in Francophone countries. Another, much rarer, French masculine form of the name is Valère.

Both feminine and masculine forms of Valerie have derivatives in many European languages and are especially common in Russian and other Eastern European languages. The masculine form is not always a cognate of the feminine; it can have a distinct etymology.

Romance
The name is generally of Romance origins. The Latin clan name, Valerius, is masculine and denotes strength, health or boldness. Valeria is simply the feminine form of this. Both masculine and feminine given names are derived via French into other languages.

In Catholic Europe, given names always related the individual to a saint, so the popularity of a name often reflected the importance of the cult of a saint. There were several important saints who bore the name and were widely venerated in the Middle Ages and, more locally in recent times. St Valerie of Limoges (French Sainte Valérie de Limoges) probably exercised the greatest influence in spreading the name. Her cult was practised along the important Way of St James and, as a cephalophore, she became a favourite subject in the early modern ceramics industry.

The majority of variant spellings have emerged relatively recently, mainly in the 20th century, origin, with fashions often following the forms adopted in popular songs.

Germanic
The modern masculine given name Valéry is ambiguous. While generally considered a cognate of Valérie, it can also be a development of, or synonym for, the name Walaric(us) (English Walric), which is of Germanic origin and signifies “foreign power”. A notable example is Walric, abbot of Leuconay. Both “Saint-Valery” [valri] and “Saint-Valéry” [valeri] are common elements in French place-names, often used optionally for the same place. The second form is a modern misspelling for ‘Saint-Valery’, that is to say St Walric.

Notable people

 * Valerie Amos, Baroness Amos (born 1954), British politician
 * Valérie Beauvais (born 1963), French politician
 * Valerie Bertinelli, American actress
 * Valérie Blass (born 1967), Canadian artist
 * Valerie A. Fitzhugh, American pathologist and professor
 * Valerie French, English actress
 * Valerie Violet French (1909-1997), English socialite
 * Valerie Harper, American actress
 * Valerie Hart (1934–2021), indigenous Guyanese political leader
 * Valerie Hunter Gordon (1921–2016), British inventor of the world's first disposable nappy, and an early sanitary towel system
 * Valerie Jarrett, American businesswoman and lawyer
 * Valérie Kaprisky (born 1962), French actress
 * Valérie Lacroute (born 1965), French politician
 * Valérie Lang (1966–2013), French actress
 * Valerie Leon, British actress
 * Valerie Lilley, Northern Irish actress
 * Valerie Morales, Puerto Rican singer-songwriter
 * Valerie Parashumti (born 1987), one of the perpetrators of the 2006 murder of Stacey Mitchell in Perth, Australia
 * Valerie Plame, former CIA officer
 * Valérie Plante (born 1974), mayor of Montreal
 * Valérie Quennessen (1957–1989), French film actress
 * Valerie Sayers, American author
 * Valerie Singleton, British TV and radio presenter
 * Valerie Solanas (1936–1988), author of feminist book SCUM Manifesto
 * Valerie Whipps, First Lady of Palau

Religion

 * Valerie of Limoges, according to legend, an associate of St Martial, a cephalophoric martyr and an important subject of Limoges porcelain.
 * Valeria of Milan, often known as St Valerie, venerated in Thibodaux, Louisiana
 * Valeria, a Christian saint martyred with Anesius

Sports

 * Dame Valerie Adams, New Zealand Olympic Shotputter
 * Valerie French, American professional wrestler
 * Valérie Hénin, French boxer
 * Valérie Létourneau, Professional MMA fighter
 * Valérie Nadaud (born 1968), French race walker
 * Valerie Sweeting, Canadian curler
 * Valerie Zimring, American rhythmic gymnast

Fictional characters

 * Valerie, a character in Breath of Fire II
 * Valerie, a character in the animated series Frisky Dingo
 * Valerie, a character in Czechoslovak surrealist fantasy horror Valerie and Her Week of Wonders (1970 film)
 * Valerie Barlow, a character in the British soap opera Coronation Street
 * Valerie "Val" Bassett, a minor character on the TV show Will & Grace
 * Valerie Birkhead, a character in the TV show Sabrina the Teenage Witch
 * Valerie Brown (also known as "Valerie Smith"), a character in the Josie and the Pussycats franchise
 * Valerie “Val” Clarke, a dancer from the musical “A Chorus Line”
 * Valerie Frizzle, character from The Magic School Bus
 * Valerie Gail, a character in the 1988 film Earth Girls Are Easy
 * Valerie Gray, a ghost hunter in the cartoon series Danny Phantom
 * Valerie Lewton, a character from the 2000 film Final Destination
 * Valerie Malone, a character in TV series Beverly Hills 90210
 * Valerie Page, a character from the graphic novel V for Vendetta, as well as the 2005 film adaptation
 * Valerie Pitman, a character in TV series Doctors
 * Valerie "Val" Tyler, a character from the TV series What I Like About You

Others

 * List of Wikipedia articles beginning with "Valerie"