I think
Valentin is an awesome name! And
Val is a sweet nickname if you want one. I’d assume it was pronounced Val-in-tin, however I am not in
America or
France. I’d be super excited if I met a
Valentin in real life, to be honest.
If you’re still looking for more suggestions, then I think
Hugo,
Victor,
Augustin,
Alessio,
Ismaël,
Maxence and
Alexandre could work, though I dont see any problem with
Valentin.
I agree with ari, your writing style is awesome!