Valentine

Latin
"strength, health"

Valentine Origin and Meaning

The name Valentine is a boy's name of Latin origin meaning "strength, health".

Valentine is an attractive Shakespearean name with romantic associations, but those very ties to the saint and the sentimental holiday have sent it into a decline, one which we think may be about to turn around.

The name's best known bearer is the third century martyr St. Valentine, whose feast day of February 14 coincided with the pagan fertility festival of the goddess Juno, all of which led to the modern Valentine's Day. This makes Valentine one of the most perfect names for February babies.

There are two Shakespearean characters named Valentine: one in Twelfth Night, and the other belonging to one of the two gentlemen in Two Gentlemen of Verona.

Valentine was the name of the father of James Bond-creator Ian Fleming, the young Humphrey Bogart played a dashing con artist named Valentine Corliss in an early film, The Bad Sister, and Kevin Bacon was Valentine McKee in the 1990 sci fi movie Tremors. Valentine Michael Smith is a major character in Robert Heinlein's classic, Stranger in a Strange Land.

Though Valentine hasn't been in the U.S. Top 1000 for over half a century, it's currently in the Top 100 in France and Belgium.

Ricky Martin chose the even more romantic Latin Valentino for one of his twins, and the feminine Valentina was given to the daughters of Salma Hayek, Adriana Lima and Lolita Davidovich. And trivia tidbit: Valentine was the middle name of writer Henry Miller.

# 940 in the US

Valentine Rank in US Top 1000

# 554 on Nameberry

Valentine Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Valentine Popularity

Famous People Named Valentine

  • Valentine Cary
    English Bishop of Exeter
  • Saint Valentine
    Roman patron of love
  • Valentine
    ninth,century pope
  • Valentine Warner
    British chef and TV presenter
  • Valentine Dyall
    English actor
  • Valentine Fleming
    English MP and father of Ian Fleming
  • Valentine "Val" Page
    English motorcycle designer
  • Valentine Abt
    American composer and mandolin player
  • Valentine Gill "Vallie" Hall III
    American tennis player
  • Valentine Penrose
    French surrealist poet
  • Valentine Quin
    1st Earl of Dunraven and Mount,Earl, Irish peer
  • Henry Valentine Miller
    American novelist
  • Paul Edward Valentine Giamatti
    American actor
  • Valentine "Val" McCallum
    musician and son of David McCallum
  • Valentine Anthony Rolph (b. 2006)
    son of American actress Mary Lynn Rajskub
  • Audie Valentine Burrows
    son of Darren Burrows
  • Kannon Valentine James (b. 2011)
    son of actor Kevin James

Valentine in Pop Culture

  • Valentine Morgenstern
    psychopath shadowhunter in "The Mortal Instruments" series by Cassandra Clare
  • Valentine Michael Smith
    character in Robert A. Heinlein's "Stranger in a Strange Land"
  • Valentine Monty
    character in "Sims" series
  • Valentine
    spelled Volantynys, in Geoffrey Chaucer's 'Parlement of Foules'
  • "Like St. Valentine
    " song by Finnish band HIM
  • Valentine
    a roguish masked juggler in the movie "Mirrormask"
  • Nick Valentine
    detective in Fallout 4
  • Valentine Coverly is a character in Tom Stoppard's Broadway play
    "Arcadia"