Valente
A Romance surname from the Latin for “healthy” or “strong,” originally a personal name nickname for someone robust.
The #4,683 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 40,732 Americans shares it.
Etymology
Valente goes back to Latin valens, meaning “strong,” “vigorous,” or “healthy.” It entered many Romance languages first as a personal name and then as a hereditary surname. The form is especially familiar in Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish naming tradition.
History
The name is closely related to Valentine and other Valen- names built on the same Latin root. As a surname, it would usually have begun as a byname or given-name surname for someone thought to be vigorous or capable. It is found across southern Europe and in emigrant communities elsewhere, including the United States.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
The same Latin root behind Valente also produced the holiday name Valentine, so the surname and the romantic name share a common idea of “strength” and “health.”
From the historical record
“Vireo, Vetera, Vuepe, Vulpius, Venia, Ventura, Vieinus, Vicini, Vinalis, Valente, Veneno, Virtus, Vacca (Cow), - Ursam, Uxer (Uxor), Ulter, Ut (As), - Vos, Voster, Vobis, Vester, Vestra, Vestrum, - Vera, Veram, - Vir, Viro,”
— A Grammar of American Surnames