Van
Feminine · “of”
Van is given to both — 1,762 girls and 29,432 boys since 1880. See Van as a boy nameSee other names given to both
In Dutch, van is not a name. It is the word for of, or from — the little particle in van Gogh and van Buren, so unimportant that Dutch phone books alphabetize past it. America took the particle, dropped everything it was attached to, and made it a name on its own.
How old is the name Van?
Van first appears in US birth records in 1888 — 137 years ago. The typical Van alive today was born around 1980, making them about 45 years old. About 1,400 people named Van are estimated to be alive in the US today.
When was the name Van most popular?
Van peaked in 1888, reaching #1136 nationally. Today it ranks #10917, 9,781 places below that high. See the whole 1888 chart.
Where it comes from
From van to Van
The story of Van
Dutch surnames very often carry a particle — van, van der, de — which names a place or a feature the family lived by, and the particle is treated as separate from the name proper. Dutch settlers brought a great many of those surnames to New York, and one of them reached the presidency in the 1830s, which put the word in front of every American voter. The particle then came loose. It has been given as a first name in American records since the nineteenth century, sometimes as a clip of a longer name and sometimes on its own. In Vietnamese, Van is something else again: it is the commonest middle name for men, sitting between the family name and the given name in millions of names.
Meaningscholars disagree
of, from
As a Dutch element, van means of or from and marks where a family came from. As an American given name it is also a plain clip of Ivan, Evan, Vance, Donovan and Sullivan. In Vietnamese it is a different word entirely. The three letters carry no single history.
How the name formed
- van
- Van
Related forms: van · Van
Pronouncing Van
VAN
One syllable, with the a of hand. Dutch says the same letters with a shorter, flatter vowel, and Vietnamese Van carries a tone that English does not reproduce.
Nicknames for Van
Moderate
What the data says
146 years of official birth records
The long climb, and where it stands now
The same years in position rather than babies
- First recorded
- 1888
- Most girls named
- 198550 — the highest on record
- Peak rank
- #1136reached in 1888
- Change vs 2023
- −50.0%8 in 2025, from 16
Rank is a position, a count is a headcount, and they move independently — a name can hold its rank while the number of babies behind it falls. Source: U.S. Social Security Administration.
Van in other languages
The same name elsewhere
- van in Dutch — related form
- Van in Vietnamese — related form
Vans among us
people named Van are estimated to be alive in the US today
About 1 girl in 200,908 born in 2025 was named Van
Estimated from SSA birth records and published actuarial life tables. Method
Is it right for you
What happens to a name after it peaks
Fashion outlook
Van sits in the calm middle of the cycle — neither chasing a wave nor sliding off one. Middle-of-the-cycle names age slowly and predictably.
A scored estimate from 146 years of naming cycles — not a prophecy. Great names outlive statistics. How this is scored
Van beside its neighbors
The names ranked closest to Van in 2025, in babies rather than position — the bars are to scale.
US girls given each name in 2025.
The trade-off
- Three letters and one syllable: unmistakable across a room or a bad line.
- It serves either child without adjustment, and the records show both.
- It works as a standalone name and as a short form of five longer ones.
- It is an ordinary English noun for a vehicle, and that is the first thing most people will think of.
- Everyone will assume it is short for something and will ask.
- Very short names occasionally fail minimum-length checks on forms and websites.
- The very few girls given this spelling will be read as boys on every form.
Nobody names a baby alone.
Put Van to the vote.
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What they receive
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Van
Feminine · #10917 in the U.S.
Frequently asked
- How many Vans are there in the world?
- No country counts the world's names, so there is no worldwide figure — anyone quoting one is estimating. About 1,400 people named Van are estimated to be alive in the US today.
- How popular is the name Van in 2025?
- Van ranks #10917 among US girl names in 2025, with 8 babies given the name.
- How rare is the name Van?
- About 1 in every 200,908 US girls born in 2025 was named Van — 8 in all.
- Will my child share the name Van with classmates?
- Van will almost certainly be the only one in school.
Ranked beside Van
Names sitting at a similar level of popularity right now.
Edythe#10917 · Tessie#10917 · Drusilla#10917 · Eugenie#10917 · Ivah#10917 · Karri#10917 · Claribel#10917 · Myrtle#10917
Looking for what else is popular rather than what resembles Van? See the current top 100.
Choosing between Van and another name?
See them side by side — full stats, history and a gentle verdict.
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Which one would you pick?
Your gut first, the numbers after — the split shows once you pick.
US figures from the Social Security Administration. 1880–2025. Data & methodology
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