VALERIE GARCIA

From the French form of the Latin name Valeria, feminine of Valerius, an old Roman family name apparently derived from valere ‘to be healthy, strong’. The name owes its popularity as a male name in France to the cult of a 3rd-century saint who was converted to Christianity by Martial of Limoges. The masculine form Valery is found occasionally in England in the 16th century, but by the 17th century had fallen into disuse.

Spanish (García) and Portuguese: from a medieval personal name of uncertain origin. It is normally found in medieval records in the Latin form Garsea, and may well be of pre-Roman origin, perhaps akin to Basque (h)artz ‘bear’.