| Gender | Feminine |
|---|---|
| Language(s) | English, Welsh |
| Origin | |
| Meaning | Literary invented name meaning "like May” |
| Other names | |
| Variant form(s) | Falmai, Felmai, Valmae, Valmaie, Valmay, Valmaye |
| Short form(s) | Val |
Valmai is an English feminine given name derived from the Welsh phrase fel Mai, meaning "like May," that was invented by Welsh bestselling novelist Allen Raine for the heroine of her 1899 romance novel By Berwen Banks. The 1920 British silent romance movie By Berwin Banks was based upon the novel and starred Eileen Magrath as Valmai Powell, Girls in English-speaking countries were named after the romantic heroine. The name has multiple spelling variants. [1]
Valmai was particularly well-used in Australia and New Zealand in the 1920s and 1930s. It ranked among the 100 most popular names for girls in New Zealand between 1928 and 1933. [2] [3] The name and its variants were also in use in the United Kingdom. Valmai and its variants were also in rare use in the United States in the first half of the 20th century.