Given name & surname
Valerian
“one who is strong and healthy”
Valerian is used as a given name and a surname. One Latin interpretation is “one who is strong and healthy.”
Meaning & origin
What it means
One Latin interpretation is “one who is strong and healthy.”
Where it comes from
An origin associated with this spelling is Latin.
The story
Published U.S. birth records include this spelling as early as 1914. This is the earliest published observation available here, rather than a date for the name’s origin.
From dated birth records
Valerian through the years
- Babies since 1880
- 503
- 497 boys · 6 girls
- Most popular year
- 2018
- 24 babies
- 2025
- 23
- #4,526 for boys
- 2021–25 vs 2016–20
- +65%
- Rising fast
By the numbers
In 2025, this name appeared in 23 U.S. birth records for boys, ranking No. 4,526 among boys’ names. The recent annual counts are too incomplete to establish a ten-year comparison. Its largest published annual count for boys was 24 in 2018. Published U.S. population figures for this spelling include 519 as a first name in 2020; 102 as a surname in 2000.
From Social Security birth records and U.S. Census name counts for this exact spelling. Other spellings are counted separately.
Valerian’s family of names
In English usage, Valerian has a feminine form in VALERIANE. Valerian has a related form in Valery. Valerian has a related form in Valeriy.
Inner ring: spellings · middle: nicknames and forms · outer: across languages.
Around the world
Valerian has relatives in 7 languages. Lines run from its Latin roots to each of them.
8 related names in 7 languages. Point at a dot, or tab to the map and use the arrow keys.
Nicknames & forms 17
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 15
Equivalents and cognates in other languages, plus older forms it grew from.
People named Valerian
- Valerian KuybyshevSoviet politician (1888-1935)
- Valerian PidmohylnyUkrainian writer (1901–1937)
- Valerian GraciasCatholic cardinal (1901–1978)1900–1978
- Valerian ZorinSoviet diplomat (1902-1986)
- Valerian FrolovSoviet general (1895–1961)
- Valerian OkekeCatholic Archbishop of Onitsha Archdioceseborn 1953
- Valerian SokolovSoviet Russian bantamweight amateur boxerborn 1946
- Valerian Madatov19th century Russian general1782–1829
- Valerian ObolenskyRussian politician (1887-1938)
Listed by how widely each person is written about, which says nothing about the name itself.
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