Valerie (given name)

Valerie is generally a feminine given name, derived directly from the French Valérie (a female-only 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 can be Valėre.

Valerie

Pronunciation	/ˈvæləri/ VAL-ə-ree
Gender	Female
Origin
Word/name	Latin nomen Valerius
Meaning	Strong, brave (valiant), "Fierce"
Region of origin	France, England, Ireland, Scotland, Germany, Scandinavia
Other names
Related names	Valeria, Valery, Val

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

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, as well as 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 on the very important Way of St James and, as a cephalophore, she became a favourite subject for the early modern ceramics industry.

The majority of the variant spellings are of recent, mainly 20th century, origin, with fashions often following the forms adopted in popular songs.

Germanic

The modern masculine given name Valéry is ambiguous. While generally a cognate of Valérie, it can also be 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
• Valerie French, English actress
• Valerie Harper, American actress
• Valerie Jarrett, American businesswoman and lawyer
• Valérie Lacroute (born 1965), French politician
• 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
• Valerie Sayers, American author
• Valerie Singleton, British TV and radio presenter
• Valerie Solanas (1936–1988), author of feminist book SCUM Manifesto
• Valerie Violet French (1909-1997), English socialite

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

• Valerie French, American professional wrestler
• Valerie Sweeting, Canadian curler
• Valerie Zimring, American rhythmic gymnast
• Valérie Létourneau, Professional MMA fighter
• Dame Valerie Adams, New Zealand Olympic Shotputter

Fictional characters

• Valerie (game character), a character in Breath of Fire II
• Valerie Barlow, a character in the British soap opera Coronation Street
• Valerie, a character in the animated series Frisky Dingo
• Valerie Frizzle, character from The Magic School Bus
• Valerie Brown (also known as "Valerie Smith"), a character in the Josie and the Pussycats franchise
• Valerie Gail, a character in the 1988 film Earth Girls Are Easy
• Valerie "Val" Bassett, a minor character on the TV show Will & Grace
• Valerie Gray, a ghost hunter in the cartoon series Danny Phantom
• Valerie Lewton, a character from Final Destination
• Valerie "Val" Tyler, a character from the TV series What I Like About You
• Valerie Page, a character from the graphic novel V for Vendetta
• Valerie, a character in Beverly Hills 90210

Others

• List of Wikipedia articles beginning with "Valerie"

Given name Valérie

• Valérie Nadaud (born 1968), a French race walker
• Valérie Kaprisky (born 1962), a French actress
• Valérie Quennessen (1957–1989), a French film actress

See also

• Valerie (disambiguation)

• Valery (name)
• Valeriu (given name)
• Valerius (name)

• Valeria (given name)
• Valerian (name)
• Valeriano (name)
• Valerianus (disambiguation)

• Valer (disambiguation)
• Valera (disambiguation)
• Valérien (disambiguation)

• All pages with titles beginning with Valerie
• All pages with titles containing Valerie