Vale

Attested across 11 languages in the etymology graph.

Vale is one spelling over 2 language communities, and the dictionaries record it differently in 2 of them. Each row is what a source recorded for that language, beside the share of this name’s records the language holds. No single row is the name’s meaning.

• English27%

  dweller in the valley; from ME val(e), OFr val; first attested Wido de la Val 1190 P (Nth).

  as a name·A Dictionary of English Surnames

  graphic name for someone who lived in a valley, ME vale (OF val, from L vallis). The surname is now also com¬ mon in Ireland, where it has been Gaelicized as de Bhal (see also Wall 3). The Fr. cogn. was originally fern., as in L, but later became masc., perhaps under the influence of Mont. Vars.: Valeri; Valleri (Tuscany); Val(i)er (Venetia). Dim.: It.: Valerini. Hung.: Valko.

  as a name·The Oxford Names Companion - The definitive guide to Surnames, First Names, and Place Names of the British Isles

  A valley.

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

• Portuguese9.7%

  valley, receipt

  as a word·A Frequency Dictionary of Portuguese

  valley

  as a word·kaikki.org Wiktionary extract (IPA + transliterations)

The share is ours — how much of this name’s records each language holds. The sense beside it is the source’s, quoted and credited, including where it names a gender. We do not publish a gender of our own per language: our records carry one figure for the spelling as a whole.

Names that people choosing a name often weigh against Vale, most often first. They share a style rather than an origin.

• Lark
• Rue
• Wren
• Sage
• Pearl
• Sky
• Wynn
• Sol
• Skye
• Winter
• Meadow
• Oak

From the names suggested together in public name-advice forums, in English. A list of what people consider, not a measure of how common any name is.

Vale is also recorded as 5 other names, grouped separately because the records behind them do not connect to the one described above.

• English surname27 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in United States, Australia, United Kingdom, Canada

  Languages: English, German, Dutch

  Also written Vaele, Val-E, Valé, Valè, Vāle

• Spanish given name41 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Mexico, Colombia, Argentina, Spain

  Also written Välë, V'Ale, Valë, Vâlê, Valé

• Thai given name41 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Thailand, Laos, Nigeria, India

  Languages: Thai, Lao

  Also written Walia, Wale, Valley, Välë, Walley

• a separate name7 spellings in the group

  Also written Vāle, Valè, Våle, Valë, Valé

• Russian given name46 spellings in the group

  Most recorded in Russia, Ukraine, United States, Kazakhstan

  Languages: Russian, Ukrainian, Croatian

  Also written Вале, Vail, Valais, Валай, Wahle

65 further groups record this spelling and are not listed here.

Grouping is the name graph's, not a register's: two spellings join a group when the evidence links them, so a group is a claim about the records rather than about the people.

Vale is also recorded in one other lexicon, as a different name or as an ordinary word. These are senses of the spelling, not of the name above.

• valley; Amsterdam, Surinam, Dutch Brazil, Chacim, Trancoso, Portugal, Babia, Ouro Preto, Cachoeira, Minas Gerais, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil

  as a name·Dicionario Sefaradi De SobrenomesDictionary Of Sephardic Surnames Inclusive Cristaos-Novos, Conversos, Marranos, Italianos,…

Ordered by how much of this spelling's record each language holds, so a sense from a language the name is barely used in sits last rather than first.

• Frank Valeb. 1908AUAustralian businessman
• Eugene Valeb. 1916USAmerican writer
• José Vicente Rangelb. 1929VEnot in their usual nameVenezuelan politician and journalist (1929–2020)
• Ronald Valeb. 1959USAmerican biochemist
• Angélica Valeb. 1969MXMexican actress
• Leonardo Garcíab. 1972MXnot in their usual nameMexican actor
• Eric Valeb. 1974USAmerican voice actor (born 1974)
• Bruno Miguel Esteves Valeb. 1983PTPortuguese footballer (1983-)
• Mason Vale Cottonb. 2002USAmerican actor
• Harvey Valeb. 2003GBIrish association football player (born 2003)

The ten people covered by the most Wikipedia language editions — a proxy for cross-cultural notability, which favours historical and Western figures over equally prominent contemporary ones — shown by birth year. Source: Wikidata (CC0).

Register rows as of the 2026-10-09 data build.

What does the name Vale mean, and where does it come from?

dweller in the valley; from ME val(e), OFr val; first attested Wido de la Val 1190 P (Nth). Recorded by A Dictionary of English Surnames.

How do you pronounce Vale?

A machine transcription gives /veɪl/ (IPA) for English.

In which country does Vale have the most bearers?

Vale is most frequently recorded in Brazil, where it is most often spelled vale.