Valeska
Feminine · “possibly 'strong”
Valeska carries a Slavic diminutive ending on what is probably a Latin root, and it belonged to the German- and Polish-speaking Europe of the nineteenth century before it belonged to America. It stood inside the top fifteen hundred here in the 1890s, which places it precisely: this is an immigrant name of the Gilded Age, and it has stayed rare and recognizably Central European ever since.
How old is the name Valeska?
Valeska first appears in US birth records in 1893 — 132 years ago. The typical Valeska alive today was born around 2003, making them about 22 years old. About 700 people named Valeska are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Valeska most popular?
Valeska peaked in 1893, reaching #1437 nationally. Today it ranks #5722, 4,285 places below that high. See the whole 1893 chart.
Lists built from the same records:
Where it comes from
From valere to Valeska
The story of Valeska
The -ka and -ska endings are ordinary Slavic diminutives, attaching to almost any feminine name, and they produced Valeska in Polish and Czech usage. Nineteenth-century Germany, which absorbed a great deal from its Slavic neighbors, took the name up and made it fashionable enough for it to appear in novels and on the stage. The great German and Central European migration to America between 1880 and 1914 brought it here, which is exactly when the American record peaks. It stayed in Brazil and Chile too, carried by the same migration, and Brazilian usage keeps it more current than American usage does.
Meaningscholars disagree
possibly 'strong, healthy' from Valeria; possibly 'ruling glory' from a Slavic compound
Two derivations, both serious. The first takes Valeska as a Slavic diminutive of Valeria, the Roman family name from valere, 'to be strong, to be well' — the root of valid and convalesce. The second builds it from the Slavic element vlad or volod, 'to rule', which gives Vladislava and its short form Vlaska or Valeska. Polish and Czech reference works split between the two, and the German usage, where the name was most visible in the nineteenth century, does not settle it.
How the name formed
- valere
- Valeria
- Valeska
Related forms: Waleska · Valeska · Valeska · Vlaska
Pronouncing Valeska
vah-LESS-kah
Three syllables, stress in the middle, with a clear s rather than a z. German and Polish speakers say it the same way. English speakers occasionally front-stress it, VAL-es-kah, which is the main variation heard.
Nicknames for Valeska
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1893
- Most girls named
- 201024 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1437reached in 1893
- Change vs 2024
- −4.5%21 in 2025, from 22
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Valeska in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- Waleska in Polish — spelling variant
- Valeska in German — same name
- Valeska in Portuguese — same name
- Vlaska in Czech — related form
Strongest US states over the last decade: Texas, California.
Valeskas among us
people named Valeska are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 76,537 born in 2025 was named Valeska
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Valeska sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Valeska beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Valeska in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Val is a familiar, easy short form that requires no explanation.
- It is phonetic in English, German, Polish and Portuguese alike.
- It has a documented nineteenth-century history in several countries at once.
- The etymology is genuinely contested, so there is no single meaning to give.
- It is rare enough in the United States that it will always be spelled out.
- The Polish spelling with a W will appear in older family documents.
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What they receive
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Valeska
Feminine · #5722 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Valeskas are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 700 people named Valeska are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Valeska in 2025?
- Valeska ranks #5722 among US girl names in 2025, with 21 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Valeska?
- About 1 in every 76,537 US girls born in 2025 was named Valeska — 21 in all.
- Will my child share the name Valeska with classmates?
- Valeska will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Valeska
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Rosina#5722 · Delores#5722 · Vaughn#5722 · Roseline#5722 · Loyal#5722 · Missy#5722 · Danitza#5722 · Margret#5722
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Valeska? See the current top 100.
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US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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