Val

Where Val comes from

Wiktionary's etymology listing comes up empty for Val.

  • 1 syllable
Val through the years
  1. 1882
    First appearance
    #943 among boys with 5 babies, the first year at least five got the name.
  2. 1923
    Val Logsdon Fitch born
    American physicist
  3. 1952
    Peak, #523
    178 babies named Val, the most in any year.
  4. 1959
    Val Kilmer born
    American actor
  5. 1961
    The fade
    The first year with half the peak's births, down to #813.
  6. 1962
    Mostly boys from here
    Until now more girls than boys got the name. From this year on, more boys have.
In the dictionary
  • A male given name, a short form of Valentine and Valerius.
  • A female given name, a short form of Valerie and Valmai.
Namesakes
  • Val Kilmer · American actor, 1959–2025
  • Val Logsdon Fitch · American physicist, 1923–2015
  • Val McDermid · Scottish crime writer, born 1955
  • Val Demings · American politician in Florida, born 1957
  • Val Avery · American actor, 1924–2009

Sources: the origin note and dictionary entry are quoted from Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0); the namesakes come from Wikidata (CC0); the milestones are worked out from the SSA record.