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{{trope}}
Because of the holiday, there is an inherent sort of romanticism associated with the name "Valentine".<ref>The name actually derives from the Latin word for strength and capability: ''valens''</ref>

Writers will utilize this association to hint at the character's heroic roots. The [[Knight in Shining Armor]] named Valentine will do anything to win fair lady's hand, while an [[Anti-Hero]] or [[The Stoic]] may have the name in order to hint at his [[Hidden Heart of Gold]]. A girl with a [[Sugar and Ice Personality]] named Valentine will often become a [[Defrosting Ice Queen]].

A [[Villain]] with the name "Valentine" is often a deliberate subversion on the audience's subconscious expectations, though they do often keep some level of tragic romanticism. They will often be a [[Well-Intentioned Extremist]], or perhaps a [[Noble Demon]] or [[Worthy Opponent]]. Female villains may be [[The Vamp]].

May or may not apply to slight variations (Valentino, Valentin, etc.) depending on their characterizaton.

A [[Naming Conventions|naming convention]]. Compare [[Cherry Blossom Girl]] and [[Alice Allusion]].

{{examples}}
==  [[Anime]] and [[Manga]] ==
* Faye Valentine from ''[[Cowboy Bebop]]''.
* Mai Valentine from ''[[Yu-Gi-Oh (anime)|Yu-Gi-Oh]]''. Her last name is Kujaku (peafowl) in the original, though.
* U.S. President (and [[Big Bad]]) Funny Valentine in ''[[JoJo's Bizarre Adventure]]: Steel Ball Run.''

==  [[Film]] ==
* The grandfather in ''[[Spy Kids]]'' (played by Ricardo Montalban) is named Valentin Avellan.
* Kevin Bacon played Valentine "Val" Mckee in ''[[Tremors]]''.
* Valentine from ''[[Mirror Mask]]'' isn't romanticized, but he does fit the "anti-hero with a heart of gold" type.
* Gangster Eddie Valentine from ''[[The Rocketeer (film)|The Rocketeer]]''. Technically a bad guy, but [[Heel Face Turn|throws his hat in with the heroes]] once he learns his employer is a two-bit Nazi.
* Valentin Zukovsky is an ally of [[James Bond]] who isn't ''quite'' evil but not entirely good either.
* Billy Ray Valentine in ''[[Trading Places]]''

==  [[Literature]] ==
* Valentine Wolfe, who never met a drug he didn't like, from ''Deathstalker''.
* Robert Heinlein's ''[[Stranger in a Strange Land]]'' has Valentine Michael Smith.
* Valentine Wiggin from ''[[Ender's Game]]''. Valentine is the sweet, empathetic-to-a-fault middle child. This stands in contrast with her brothers psychopath-but-he-grew-up-okay Peter "The Rock (Upon Whom I Found My Church)," Fisher Of Men, and the youngest practically-inhuman-empathy-and-perfect-warrior 'Ender,' properly Andrew, "brother of Peter", "he-who-insisted-on-being-crucified-on-an-X". You see, their father—the very-Catholic John Paul Wiggin<ref>born Jan Paweł Wieczorek in Poland, and [[Named After Somebody Famous|named after a famous 20th-century Pope both in-universe and out]]</ref>—gave them significant saints' names and secret baptisms, because Ender's Game was written at a time when Card seriously believed that Da Gubbamint might outlaw the practice of religion and succeed under the pretense of population control. This interacts annoyingly with [[The Great Politics Mess-Up]], for reasons that have nothing to do with this trope.
* The heroine of the very first of [[P. G. Wodehouse|PG Wodehouse]]'s "[[Blandings Castle]]" novels, ''Something Fresh'' (1915), was named Joan Valentine.
* The real name of reformed safe-cracker Ralph Spencer in [[O. Henry]]'s "A Retrieved Reformation" is Jimmy Valentine. (The story was filmed twice, in 1915 and in 1928, as ''Alias Jimmy Valentine''.)
* In [[G. K. Chesterton]]'s "[[Father Brown]]" stories "The Blue Cross" and "The Secret Garden," Aristide Valentin [''sic''] is the Head of the Parisian police.  {{spoiler|He is also the murderer in the latter.}}
* The main character of Robert Silverberg's ''Lord Valentine's Castle'', and some but not all of the following books in the Majipoor series.
* ''[[Mortal Engines]]'' has Thaddeus and his daughter Katherine.
* Valentine de Villefort, the [[Proper Lady]]-like daughter of the Count's enemies in ''[[The Count of Monte Cristo (novel)|The Count of Monte Cristo]]''
** And her counterpart in the anime series ''[[Gankutsuou]]'', based on ''The Count of Monte Cristo''.
* Valentinian in ''[[Belisarius Series]]''. He does not have a particularly romantic outlook on life.
* Valentine Morgenstern in Cassandra Clare's ''[[Mortal Instruments]]'' series is not a nice person.

==  [[Live-Action TV]]  ==
* Becca Valentine from ''[[Andromeda]]''.
* Emily Valentine from [[Beverly Hills, 90210]]
* Cat Valentine from [[Victorious]].
* Emma Valentine from ''[[The Wild Wild West (TV series)|The Wild Wild West]]'' episode "The Night of the Vicious Valentine". She's a  {{spoiler|villain who pretends to be a matchmaker to steal the inheritances of wealthy men}}. And she wears heart-themed clothing.

==  [[Music]] ==
* "The Two Sides of Monsieur Valentine", by Spoon. The song is quite cryptic ([[Gushing About Shows You Like|and good!]]), but Monsieur Valentine is mentioned to have a "black heart machine".

==  [[Professional Wrestling]] ==
* Greg "The Hammer" Valentine, son of Johnny Valentine.

== [[Theatre]] ==
* Valentine, one of the Two Gentlemen of Verona from the play of [[Two Gentlemen of Verona|the same name]] by [[William Shakespeare|Shakespeare]]

==  [[Video Games]] ==
* Jill Valentine in the first, third, and fifth ''[[Resident Evil]]'' games.
* Vincent Valentine from ''[[Final Fantasy VII]]''
* Isabella (Ivy) Valentine, from the ''[[Soul Series]]'' series.
* The family of vampires from ''[[Shadow Hearts]]''.
* Mr. Valentine, the [[Big Bad]] arch-criminal from ''[[Guilty Party]].''  {{spoiler|Fully in-line with the trope, "[[Samus Is a Girl|he]]" does indeed have a [[Hidden Heart of Gold]].}}
* Queen Valentina from ''[[Super Mario RPG]]''.

== [[Web Comics]] ==
* Valentine Liosbri of the web comic ''[[HERO (Webcomic)|HERO]]''.

==  [[Web Original]] ==
* Renee Valenti from ''[[Survival of the Fittest]]''.

==  [[Real Life]] ==
* Once famous as the greatest lover in film, Rudolf Valentino.
* The ''[[Trope Maker|original]]'' Saint Valentine.
** Truthfully there have been about thirty saints named "Valentine" (and a few Valentinas) but the most likely candidates for the inspiration for St. Valentine's Day was the Third Century Roman martyr [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saint_Valentine detailed here.]

{{reflist}}
[[Category:Be My Valentine]]
[[Category:Naming Conventions]]
[[Category:Mysterious Woman]]