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6/9/2023, 2:32 PM Mike C update #114
11/16/2019, 11:04 AM Mike C update #105
6/13/2019, 12:17 AM Mike C update #104
1/22/2019, 10:01 AM Mike C update #101
10/10/2012, 5:50 PM Mike C update #84
2/12/2007, 1:03 AM Mike C earliest recorded revision

Gender Masculine
Usage English
Pronounced Pron. VAL-in-tien

Meaning & History

From the Roman cognomen Valentinus, which was itself a derivative of the cognomen Valens meaning "strong, vigorous, healthy" in Latin. Saint Valentine was a 3rd-century martyr. His feast day was the same as the Roman fertility festival of Lupercalia, which resulted in the association between Valentine's day and love.

As an English name, it has been used occasionally since the 12th century. It is the name of a central character in Shakespeare's play The Two Gentlemen of Verona (1594).