Given name & surname
Vala
“the chosen one; singled out”
Vala is used as a given name and a surname. One German interpretation is “the chosen one; singled out.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One German interpretation is “the chosen one; singled out.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is German.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1921. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Vala through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 216
- 0 boys · 216 girls
- Most popular year
- 2011
- 13 babies
- 2025
- 10
- #10,059 for girls
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- −24%
- Easing
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 10 U.S. birth records for girls, ranking No. 10,059 among girls’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 306 as a first name in 2020; 538 as a surname in 2020.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Vala’s family of names
Vala has a related form in Valla. Vala has a related form in Valah. In Greek usage, Vala as a surname is a transliteration of Βάλα.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Nicknames & forms 2
Diminutives, pet forms, short forms and variants used alongside the name.
Spellings & scripts 2
The same name written differently, including transliterations into other scripts.
Across languages 4
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Vala
- Vala FlosadóttirIcelandic athletics competitor (born 1978)
- Wala of CorbieAdvisor to Charlemagne755–836
Characters named Vala: Vala Mal Doran (fiction character from the Stargate franchise).
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
Similar names
If you love Vala, these share its style, era, origin or sound, from outside its own family.
Marlenne
Marlenne is a feminine given name from German. It is used in French.
>99% girls
Ella
“from a foreign land”
>99% girls
Balsam
Balsam is a surname from German.
>99% girls
Pfeiffer
“piper”
>99% girls
Ava
Ava is a name with an uncertain early history and a prominent twentieth-century revival or re-creation.
>99% girls
Aubrey
“one who rules with elfwisdom”
3% boys · 97% girls
Adelaide
“noble” · “kind”
>99% girls
Adaline
“of the nobility; serene; of good humor”
>99% girls