The first valve was the diode valve, created in the UK by Fleming, hence the name 'valve' because it's one way flow is essentially identical to a water or air valve. The first amplifying valve the triode, was an American and Austrian (independently) development of the diode a couple of years later.
So 'valve' makes sense because of the original diode, where as 'tube' doesn't make a lot of sense at all
I suppose the encapsulation could be cut from a glass tube?, but they are really too short to be considered a tube.