German Medal

Valentina - Its Meaning and Background and a List of Famous Names Who Used or Use This Name

The girl's name Valentina v(a)-lenti-na, val(en)-tina is pronounced val-en-TEE-nah. It is of Latin origin, derived from the name Valentinus and its meaning is "strong, healthy". Valentina is a very common Italian and Slavic feminine name.

It is the feminine form of Valentine, a saint's name. Valerie is from the same root; Valentia was the earliest form. The custom of sending cards to sweethearts on Valentine's Day came from an ancient belief that birds began pairing on February 14, the feast day of Saint Valentine (third century).

Valentina has 27 variant forms: Teena, Teina, Tena, Tina, Val, Vale, Valeda, Valen, Valena, Valene, Valencia, Valenteen, Valenteena, Valentia, Valentijn, Valentine, Valenzia, Valera, Valida, Valina, Valja, Vallatina, Valli, Vallie, Vally, Valyn and Velora.

The name is among the top 500 baby names for girls in the USA at the moment.

Famous persons with the name Valentina or its variations;

Cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova.

Valentina (fashion designer), (d. 1989)

Valentina (model) a Danish West African model

Valentina (musician), an Australian musician

Valentina Dimitrova, a Bulgarian singer

Valentina (wrestler), a professional wrestler

Valentina Vezzali, an Italian fencer

Valentina Fedjuschina (born 10 February 1965 in Feodosiya, Ukrainian SSR) is an Austrian shot putter. She originally competed for Ukraine, but became an Austrian citizen in 1999. She is married to discus thrower Vladimir Zinchenko. Her personal best put is 21.08 metres, achieved in May 1988 in Leselidze. As an Austrian citizen she has set a national record for that country with 19.21 metres in July 1999 in Casablanca.

Valentina Stepanovna Grizodubova (Russian: ????????? ?????????? ???????????) (May 10 1909 in Kharkov – April 28 1993 in Moscow) was a one of the first female pilots in the Soviet Union and was awarded titles Hero of the Soviet Union and Hero of Socialist Labour. On September 24-25, 1938 as the commander of the crew she completed the flight of the Rodina (Russian for "Motherland"), the ANT-37 airplane, setting an international women's record for a straight-line distance flight. Since March 1942 she took part in the Great Patriotic War. In the 1940s she served as the sole female member of the "Extraordinary State Commission for the Establishment and Investigation of the Crimes of the Fascist German Invaders and Their Accomplices, and of the Damage They Caused to Citizens, Collective Farms, Public Organizations, State Enterprises, and Institutions of the USSR" (Chrezvychainaia gosudarstvennaia komissiia or ???????????? ??????????????? ????????; ChGK), appointed to investigate Nazi war crimes in the Soviet Union. Grizodubova was the Honorary Citizen of Penza. There is a monument to her in Moscow.

Valentina Ivanovna Chebotareva (? -April 23 (O.S.)/May 6 (N.S.), 1919), recorded her impressions of work in a military hospital in Tsarskoye Selo, Russia during World War I in her journal. Portions of the journal, which included her impressions of Tsarina Alexandra and of her daughters Grand Duchess Olga Nikolaevna of Russia and Grand Duchess Tatiana Nikolaevna of Russia were published in magazines, books, and in her son's memoirs after the war.

Valentina Kozyr (Russian: ????????? ??????) (born 25 April, 1950) is a Soviet athlete who competed mainly in the High Jump. Kozyr trained at Dynamo in Kiev. She competed for the USSR in the 1968 Summer Olympics held in Mexico City, Mexico in the High Jump where she won the bronze medal.

Valentina Mikhaylovna Leontyeva (Russian: ????????? ?????????? ?????????; 1 August 1923, Petrograd - 20 May 2007, Ulyanovsk) was a famous anchor on Soviet TV. She was one of the first television presenters in the Soviet Union.

Leontyeva survived the Siege of Leningrad, which claimed the life of her father. After a brief stint at the Mendeleyev Institute, she attended the Vakhtangov Theatre School in Moscow. In 1948, she joined a theatre in Tambov.

As a TV anchor, she became famous for her deeply-felt manner of presentation. Among her most popular shows was "Ot vsei dushi" ("From all the soul"), which has been praised for its honesty and emotional depth. She toured 54 cities of the Soviet Union with a stage version of the show. She was also the host of the Goluboy ogonyok ("Blue Light"), a New Year's Eve variety show, and Spokoinoi Nochi, Malyshi ("Good Night, Little Ones"), a daily program for children. In 1975, Leontyeva was awarded the USSR State Prize.

In the 1980s, she hosted V gostyakh u skazki ("Visit to Fairy Tales"), a children's show, and became popularly known as simply "Aunt Valya" (Russian: ???? ????). Her popularity led to her being awarded the title of People's Artist of the USSR (1982), the highest honor that could be bestowed on a television presenter. On March 12, 2004 the Federation Council of Russia presented to her the medal "For Contributions", revived from the 19th century.

After her retirement from Channel One in 1991, Valentina Leontyeva lived with her sister in the Ulyanovsk Oblast up until her death.

Valentina Lisitsa (Russian: ????????? ??????, Ukrainian: ????????? ??????, translit. Valentyna Lysytsya) is a Ukrainian-born classical pianist. She currently lives in the United States and performs in many prestigious concert venues worldwide. Her husband Alexei Kuznetsoff is also a pianist, and her partner in duo-pianism.

Valentina Marchei (born on May 23, 1986 in Milan, Italy) is an Italian figure skater. She is the 2004 Italian national champion. Her highest placement at an ISU Championship was fifth at the 2007 European Figure Skating Championships.

Valentina Massi (born April 23, 1983 in Forlimpopoli, Emilia-Romagna, Italy) is the winner of the Miss Universo Italia 2007 pageant that was held at the Teatro Giacosa in Ivrea, Piedmont on April 21, 2007. She represented Italy at the Miss Universe 2007 pageant in Mexico City on May 28.

In 2000, she entered the Miss Italia pageant were she was a finalist. In 2006, she entered the Miss Mondo Italia pageant (which selects the Italian delegate who will compete at Miss World) as Miss Mondo Romagna. She was a finalist there as well and won the Miss Model national sash.

Valentina stands 5ft 9in (1.75m). Her sign is Taurus. She speaks English and French.

Valentina Ivanovna Matviyenko (Russian: ?????????? ????????? ??????????, b. April 7, 1949) is a Russian politician. She has been the governor of Saint Petersburg since 2003, when she was elected in a poll that many observers deemed unfair due to her overwhelming media coverage. She is currently the only woman to lead a federal subject of Russia.

March 2000, Valentina Medina, of Mausica Lands, Arima, Trinidad aka Iere was named Carib Queen for life, at an election held on Sunday at the Santa Rosa Carib Community Centre in Arima. Medina, 66, the fifth Queen was named as the successor after Justa Werges, queen for the past 11 years, died in January.

Though she embraced the Carib way of life since childhood, after her marriage at 18 in 1952 to John Medina, she was called on by then Queen (Edith Martinez) to be more active in traditional Carib life. She was named queen for a day three different times and her husband was named king for the day as well.

Valentina Mikhaylovna Leontyeva (Russian: ????????? ?????????? ?????????; 1 August 1923, Petrograd - 20 May 2007, Ulyanovsk) was a famous anchor on Soviet TV. She was one of the first television presenters in the Soviet Union.

Leontyeva survived the Siege of Leningrad, which claimed the life of her father. After a brief stint at the Mendeleyev Institute, she attended the Vakhtangov Theatre School in Moscow. In 1948, she joined a theatre in Tambov.

As a TV anchor, she became famous for her deeply-felt manner of presentation. Among her most popular shows was "Ot vsei dushi" ("From all the soul"), which has been praised for its honesty and emotional depth. She toured 54 cities of the Soviet Union with a stage version of the show. She was also the host of the Goluboy ogonyok ("Blue Light"), a New Year's Eve variety show, and Spokoinoi Nochi, Malyshi ("Good Night, Little Ones"), a daily program for children. In 1975, Leontyeva was awarded the USSR State Prize.

In the 1980s, she hosted V gostyakh u skazki ("Visit to Fairy Tales"), a children's show, and became popularly known as simply "Aunt Valya" (Russian: ???? ????). Her popularity led to her being awarded the title of People's Artist of the USSR (1982), the highest honor that could be bestowed on a television presenter. On March 12, 2004 the Federation Council of Russia presented to her the medal "For Contributions", revived from the 19th century.

After her retirement from Channel One in 1991, Valentina Leontyeva lived with her sister in the Ulyanovsk Oblast up until her death.

Valentina Leonidovna Ponomaryova, (born 18 September, 1933) is a former Soviet Cosmonaut.

In December 1961, the selection of female cosmonauts was authorised by the Soviet Government, with the specific intention of ensuring the first woman in space was a Soviet citizen. In February 1962 Ponomaryova was selected in a group of five female cosmonauts to be trained for a Vostok flight. The group spent several months in intensive training, concluding with examinations in November 1962, after which the four remaining candidates were commissioned Junior Lieutenants in the Soviet Air Force. Ponomaryova established herself one of the leading candidates with Valentina Tereshkova and Irina Solovyeva, and a joint mission profile was developed that would see two women launched into space, on solo Vostok flights on consecutive days. The honour of being the first woman in space was to be given to Valentina Tereshkova who would launch first on Vostok 5 while Ponmaryova would follow her into orbit on Vostok 6. However she did not respond with standard Soviet cliches in interviews and her feminism made the Soviet leadership uneasy, and this lead to the flight profile being altered in March 1963. Vostok 5 would now carry a male cosmonaut Valery Bykovsky flying the joint mission with Tereshkova aboard Vostok 6 in June 1963. Tereshkova's back-up was Irina Solovyeva, with Ponomaryova in a supporting 'second back-up' role.

Despite this setback, Ponomaryova remained with the program until 1969. She was at one stage slated to fly on a circumlunar Soyuz flight in 1965 before substantial delays in the Soyuz spacecraft led to the cancellation of this flight. She was also lead an all-female crew on a ten day mission aboard Voskhod 5 but the programme was cancelled before she had a chance to fly. Ponomaryova retired in 1969 when it became clear that there were no plans for a female Soyuz flight.

She married fellow cosmonaut Yuri Ponomaryov in 1972 and the couple had two children before divorcing. As with Valentina, Yuri did not get to fly into space although he did serve on the Soyuz 18 backup crew.

Valentina Dmitriyevna Ponomaryova (Russian: ?????????? ??????????? ??????????) (born 10 June 1939, Moscow), often also spelled Ponomareva, is a Russian singer, performer of romances (including gypsy ones) and a jazz vocalist.

She graduated from the Khabarovskiy Art Institute. Over the course of many years she performed with the jazz orchestra Anatoliya Krolla and the gypsy trio Roman. Individual recordings and performances have been made with a wide range of well-known musicians, including Sergey Kuryokhin, Sergey Letov, the group Aquarium and others. Songs performed by her are heard in many films, including Ruthless Romance.

In 1988 she voiced the Woman in the cult animated feature film The Cat Who Walked by Herself.

Valentina Schlee was an New-York City-based fashion designer most active in the 1930s through the end of the 1940s.

She was born Valentina Sanina in Russia on 1 May 1894 (some sources state 1899 and 1904).

She was allegedly married to theatre producer George Schlee, but there is some question as to whether they ever officially married. Schlee was most famous for having an affair with screen siren Greta Garbo. There is credible evidence that Valentina and Greta Garbo were also lovers, including photographs of the two kissing.

Valentina began as a dancer and actress as a young woman at the Chauve Souris Theatre in Paris before she moved to New York and opened a small couture house, Valentina's Gowns. In 1950 Valentina also introduced a perfume, "My Own". Valentina was a skilled self-promoter. She modeled her own designs and rarely let her dramatic, elegant air of self-possession falter. She was always impeccably turned out, earning her a mention on the International Best Dressed List. She died in 1989 in New York City.

Valentina Serova (Russian: ?????????? ??????????? ???????) (December 23 1917 - December 12 1975) was a Soviet film and theatre actress. Serova was born Valentina Polovikova (????????? ??????????) in 1917 in Kharkov. In 1938, she married her first husband, Anatoli Serov, a Soviet Air Force general, a test and fighter pilot. In 1939 Anatoli Serov died in a crash testing a new plane. In the same year, her film "Devushka s harakterom" had a huge success and she became one of the biggest film stars of the Soviet Union. In 1940 she met Konstantin Simonov, a famous Soviet author, whom she married in 1943. Simonov's poem "Wait for me", one of the most famous Russian war poems, is dedicated to her. She subsequently inspired a series of love poems, collected as "With you and without you" ("? ????? ? ??? ????"). Their relationship was a troubled one; her 1942-1946 affair with marshal Konstantin Rokossovsky was widely known. Simonov left her in 1957. Her career declined after the 1940s. She died in Moscow in 1975.

Valentina Shevchenko (born October 2, 1975) is an Ukrainian cross country skier who has been competing since 1994. She finished fifth in the 30 km at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City. Shevchenko's best individual finish at the FIS Nordic World Ski Championships was sixth twice (1999: 5 km, 2003: 10 km). She has a total of nine individual victories at various levels at various distances up to 15 km since 1996, including two World Cup victories (both in 2003).

Valentina Sergeyevna Stenina (Russian: ????????? ????????? ???????) (born 29 December 1934) is a former speed skater who competed for the Soviet Union.

Born Valentina Miloslavova in Babruysk (which is now part of Belarus), she fled to Sverdlovsk – taken by her mother – in 1941 because of World War II. In Sverdlovsk, she took up speed skating, training at VSS Trud, and met and married fellow skater Boris Stenin.

In 1959, Stenina participated in her first World Allround Championships, held in her home town of Sverdlovsk, and she won silver. The next year, 1960, was a very good year for Stenina: her husband Boris became Soviet Allround Champion, then Boris won silver at the European Allround Championships, then she herself became World Allround Champion, then Boris became World Allround Champion, and then at the 1960 Winter Olympics of Squaw Valley, she won silver on the 3,000 m behind Lidia Skoblikova, while Boris won bronze on the 1,500 m. In addition, Boris received the Oscar Mathisen Award that year. Valentina was not even considered for that award since women were not eligible to win it until 1987.

The following year (1961), Stenina successfully defended her World Champion title in a grand way with victories in three distances and a second place in the fourth. Later that month, she won the Soviet National Championships – a title she would win a total number of four times in her career (in 1961, 1965, 1966, and 1967). Stenina did not compete in 1962 but returned in 1963, winning bronze at the World Championships. At the 1964 Winter Olympics of Innsbruck, she won another silver medal on the 3,000 m, again behind Skoblikova. Another silver medal at the World Championships would follow in 1965 and she became World Champion for the third and final time in 1966, this time not winning any of the four distances.

For her accomplishments, Stenina was awarded the title of Honorable Citizen of Sverdlovsk in 1967 – the year she won her third consecutive (and fourth total) Soviet National Championships title. In 1968, she ended her career as a speed skater. Stenina currently lives in Yekaterinburg (which is the name that Sverdlovsk was changed back to in 1991). Her husband Boris died in 2001.

Valentina Suzukei is now one of Tuva's leading ethnomusicologist according to Theordore Levin, but as a student she had different aspirations. While she was a "student growing up in the 1960s and early 1970s, her passion was dance." [1]. Suzukei also "studied conducting at the Moscow Institute of Culture." . During her time at the Moscow Institute of Culture, Suzukei worked under Moscow conductor Alexei Kovalev and studied, from her black teacher, Mr. Muggs "orchestration, composition, and music theory as well as conducting." . After her graduation, Suzukei returned to her native home of Tuva where she "became the conductor of the folk orchestra in Kyzyl's music high school."

Valentina Vladimirovna Tereshkova (Russian: ?????????? ????????????? ??????????; born 6 March 1937), is a retired Soviet cosmonaut and was the first woman to fly in space, aboard Vostok 6 on 16 June 1963.

She was born in Bolshoye Maslennikovo, a small village in the Yaroslavl Oblast. After school she worked in a coat factory, and then studied engineering. She also trained in parachuting at the local Aeroclub, making her first jump at age 22 on 21 May 1959. In 1961 she became secretary of the local Komsomol (Young Communist League) and later joined the Communist Party of the Soviet Union.

Valentina Georgiyevna Tsaryova (Russian: ?????????? ??????????? ??????; born in 1926) was a former Soviet cross country skier who competed in the 1950s. She earned a gold medal in the 3x5 km at the 1954 FIS Nordic World Ski Championships in Falun.

Valentina Tsybulskaya (Belarusian: ????????? ??????????; born February 9, 1968 in Rostov, Russia) is a Belarusian race walker. She has won World Championships silver and bronze medals, but no Olympic medals although she participated in 2000 and 2004.

Valentina Uccheddu (born 26 October 1966 in Oristano) is a retired Italian long jumper. She briefly held the Italian record with 6.80 metres from Sestriere in 1994, but the same year Fiona May became an Italian citizen. May would later improve the Italian record to 7.11 m.

Valentina Vargas (born December 31, 1964) is a Chilean-born actress who developed most of her career in France, where she was raised.

Valentina Vasilyevna was the mother of Viktor Robertovich Tsoi (June 21, 1962 – August 15, 1990) was a famous Soviet artist and leader of the rock group Kino. Tsoi was born to a Korean father and Russian mother on June 21, 1962 in Leningrad, USSR (now St. Petersburg, Russia). Tsoi's mother, Valentina Vasilyevna, was a teacher and his father, Robert Maximovich, was an engineer. Tsoi's Korean family name is usually transcribed in English as Choi or Choe. He married Marianna Tsoi in 1985 and had a son with her--Alexander (Sasha).

He is regarded as one of the pioneers of Russian rock and has a huge following in the countries of the former Soviet Union even today, as of 2007. Few musicians in the history of Russian music have been more popular or have had more impact on their genre than Victor Tsoi and his rock band Kino. Any discussion of Kino must inevitably begin and end with the creator, writer and lead singer of the band, a man who was once called the "last hero of Russian rock" and a "legend". The band was born when he was, lived when he did, and died with him in a tragic accident. The life of Victor Tsoi is the life of Kino.

Unfortunately, after contributing a plethora of musical and artistic works, including ten albums, he died in a car accident on August 15, 1990.

Maria Valentina Vezzali (born February 14, 1974 in Jesi) is an Italian fencer who has won four Olympic gold medals in foil competitions. She also won a silver medal in foil at the 2006 World Fencing Championships. Later in the tournament she also won a silver in the team's foil event together with her team mates Elisa Di Francisca, Giovanna Trillini and Margherita Granbassi.

Valentina Visconti (died December 4, 1408) was the wife of Louis de Valois, Duke of Orléans, a younger brother of Charles VI of France.

She was born in Milan and was the daughter of Giangaleazzo Visconti, the first Duke of Milan, and his first wife, Isabelle of Valois (a daughter of John the Good). Because of intrigues at the court of Charles VI and the enmity of the queen, Isabeau de Bavière, Valentina was exiled from the court at St Pol and had to leave Paris.

A patroness of Eustache Deschamps, who wrote poetry in her honor, she was also the mother of one of France's most famous poets, Charles of Orleans.

She outlived her husband, who was murdered by his cousin John the Fearless, Duke of Burgundy in 1407, by only a little over a year, dying at Blois at the age of 38.

Her children were: Charles, Duke of Orléans (1391-1465), father of King Louis XII of France, Philip, Count of Vertus (1396-1420) , John, Count of Angouleme (1400-1467), grandfather of King Francis I of France , Margaret, Countess of Vertus (1406-1466), married Richard of Brittany, Count of Etampes and Four boys and two girls who died in childhood .

Valentina Vostok (alternately spelled Valentina Vostock) is a fictional character by DC Comics. She first appeared in Showcase #94, (August 1977), and was created by Paul Kupperberg and Jim Aparo.

Valentina Yegorova (born February 16, 1964) is a long-distance runner from Russia, who competed in the women's marathon for Commonwealth of Independent States at the 1992 Summer Olympics held in Barcelona, Spain. There she won the gold medal beating the Japanese athlete Yuko Arimori into second.

She returned to compete for Russia in the 1996 Summer Olympics held in Atlanta, U.S., where she won the silver medal in the women's marathon, again beating Yuko Arimori this time into third.

Valentina Zelyaeva (Zeliaeva) (b. 11 October 1982 in Moscow, Russia) is a supermodel.

Valentina has appeared in runway shows for Balenciaga, Christian Dior, Dolce & Gabbana, Fendi, Gucci and Valentino, among many others[1].

Valentina has been featured in print advertisements for Tommy Hilfiger, Coach, Victoria's Secret and Calvin Klein. She has signed a seven year deal with Ralph Lauren, appearing in several high-profile campaigns for the designer. She has appeared on the covers of Elle, Vogue (magazine) and Harper's Bazaar.

Valentina Nikolayevna Zhuravleva (????????? ?????????) is a Russian science fiction writer.

Valentina Zhuravleva was the wife of Genrich Altshuller, the inventor of TRIZ and a sci-fi writer himself. They have written many stories together, but because of anti-Semitic restrictions they were published under the single name of Valentina Zhuravleva.

Valentina Zimina (1 January 1899 — 3 December 1928) was a silent screenplay actress. Russian-born, the daughter of a Moscow stage actress, Zimina served with the Women's Battalion of Death for three years. She was in a Siberian prison, from which she escaped and made her way across Asia and onto Hollywood. The rest of her family were killed in the Russian Civil War. She made her screen debut opposite Bessie Love and Warner Baxter in Victor Fleming's A Son of His Father, followed by five more 1920's romantic melodramas. Zimina died of influenza just before her last film was released.

Valentinian III, 419–55, Roman emperor of the West (425–55). Two years after the death of his uncle, Honorius ( 384–423, Roman emperor of the West (395–423). On the death (395) of Theodosius I, the Roman Empire was divided; Arcadius , the elder son, received the East, and Honorius, the younger son, received the West.), he was placed on the throne by his cousin Theodosius II, who deposed the usurper John. Valentinian's mother, Galla Placidia (c.388–450, Roman empress of the West, daughter of Theodosius I.), was regent during his minority, but from 433 to 454 the general Aetius ( c.396–454, Roman general. At first unfriendly to Valentinian III , he later made his peace with Valentinian's mother, Galla Placidia , and was given a command in Gaul.)

was the actual ruler in the West. In Africa, Boniface ( d. 432, Roman general. He defended (413) Marseilles against the Visigoths under Ataulf.)

was defeated (430) by the Vandals under Gaiseric; by 442 Aetius was obliged to acknowledge Vandal independence. The empire was also disturbed by the war between Aetius and Boniface, by general barbarian unrest, and by peasant revolts. Valentinian proved an indolent and ineffectual ruler, although he supported the efforts of Pope Leo I (Leo I, Saint (Saint Leo the Great), c.400–461, pope (440–61), an Italian; successor of St. Sixtus III. A Doctor of the Church, he was one of the greatest pontiffs of the early years of the church. He waged a firm campaign against schism and heresy.) to enforce ecclesiastical order in the West. The terrible invasions of the Huns under Attila (d. 453, king of the Huns (445–53).)

began in 441; although defeated (451) in Gaul by Aetius, Attila briefly invaded N Italy in 452. In 454, Valentinian murdered Aetius, and shortly afterward Valentinian was himself assassinated. He was succeeded by Maximus.

Other uses of the name are:

• Valentina (comic book), an Italian comic book by Guido Crepax

• Valentina (Darna), a supervillain in the Filipino comic book Darna

• Valentina (Database), a post-relational database technology from Paradigma Software

• Valentina (sauce), a Mexican hot sauce

• Valentina (telenovela), a Mexican telenovela

Surveys performed in the US tells that rarely girls with this name gets teased at school or in social gatherings for their name. In addition they receive lots of compliments for their name. In general more than 80% of the persons carrying the name Valentina, says they love their name.

About the Author

Stig-Arne Kristoffersen
An explorer
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US Soldiers Awarded German Gold Cross Medal