How popular is the baby name Van in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Find out using the graph below! Plus, check out all the blog posts that mention the name Van.

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Popularity of the Baby Name Van


Posts that Mention the Name Van

Baby names with VAN: Vance, Giovanna, Donovan

van

Looking for baby names that contain the word VAN?

If so, here’s a long list of options to choose from!

Top baby names with VAN

First, a quick rundown of the most popular names with the letter sequence “v-a-n,” according to the current U.S. baby name data.

Top girl names with “v-a-n”Top boy names with “v-a-n”
Savannah
Evangeline
Vanessa
Ivanna
Savanna
Giovanna
Giavanna
Avani
Ivana
Evangelina
Evan
Giovanni
Ivan
Sullivan
Donovan
Evander
Van
Jovanni
Vance
Jovani

Now here are the same names again, but this time around I’ve added definitions, links to popularity graphs, and a handful of diminutives.

Avani

The name Avani comes from a Sanskrit word meaning “earth.”

Donovan

The Irish surname Donovan is derived from the given name Donndubhán, which was based on the Old Irish elements donn, meaning “brown,” and dubh, meaning “dark” or “black.”

Evan

The name Evan is an Anglicized form of the Welsh name Ifan — the equivalent of John. Both Ifan and John can be traced back to the Hebrew name Yochanan, meaning “Yahweh is gracious.”

Evander

The name Evander is made up of ancient Greek elements meaning “good” and “man.”

Evangeline + Evangelina

The name Evangeline is made up of ancient Greek elements meaning “good” and “news.”

The name Evangelina is a Latinized form of Evangeline.

Giovanni, Giovanna, Giavanna, Jovanni + Jovani

Like Evan, Giovanni is an Italian equivalent of the English name John.

The name Giovanna is the feminine form of Giovanni.

The names Jovanni, Jovani, and Giavanna are modern respellings of Giovanni and Giovanna.

Diminutive forms of these names include Giovannino, Giovannina, and Vanni.

Ivan, Ivana + Ivanna

The name Ivan is the equivalent of John in various Slavic languages, such as Russian, Bulgarian, and Czech.

The names Ivana and Ivanna are feminine forms of Ivan.

The Russian diminutive form of Ivan is Vanya.

Savannah + Savanna

The word-name Savanna refers to a grassland with few trees. It comes (via Spanish) from the Arawakan word zabana.

The name Savannah can be considered a form of Savanna. It could also refer to any of the various places called Savannah, including the city in Georgia.

Sullivan

The Irish surname Sullivan is derived from the given name Súileabhán, which was based on the Old Irish elements súil, meaning “eye,” and dubh, meaning “dark” or “black.”

Van

The name Van is simply a short form of any first name or family name containing van. (In the case of Dutch surnames like Van Buren, the prefix Van means “of” or “from.”)

Vance

The name Vance comes from the English surname that originally referred to someone who lived near a wetland, such as a fen or a marsh. It’s ultimately based on the Middle English word fen(ne), meaning “fen.”

Vanessa

The name Vanessa was coined by Anglo-Irish writer Jonathan Swift as a nickname for one of his ladyfriends, Esther Vanhomrigh. (It’s a combination of “Van,” the first three letters of Vanhomrigh, and “Essa,” a diminutive of Esther.) Swift featured the name in his poem Cadenus and Vanessa (written in 1713, published in 1726).

More names with VAN

So, what other names have VAN in them? Here are some less-common choices. (Most of these come directly from the SSA’s baby name data.)

  • Aadhavan
  • Aivan
  • Alvan
  • Alvana
  • Alvania
  • Antvan
  • Avan
  • Avana, Avanna, Avannah
  • Avanel, Avanell, Avanelle
  • Avangelia
  • Avangelina
  • Avanish, Avaneesh
  • Avanta
  • Avante, Avantae
  • Avant
  • Avanti
  • Avantika, Avanthika
  • Avanya
  • Ayvani
  • Bavan
  • Bevan
  • Bhavana
  • Bhuvan
  • Bivan
  • Brevan
  • Calvan
  • Cavan
  • Cavanaugh
  • Cavani
  • Cervantes
  • Covan
  • Danovan
  • Davan
  • Davana, Davanna
  • Davante, Davantay
  • Delavan
  • Delvan
  • Delvante
  • Devan, Devann
  • Devana, Devanna
  • Devane
  • Devanna
  • Devanand
  • Devance
  • Devane
  • Devang
  • Devanee, Devaney, Devani, Devanie, Devany, Devanni
  • Devansh
  • Devanshi
  • Devante, Devantae
  • Devanti
  • Dhvani
  • Dhruvan
  • Dilovan
  • Dilvan
  • Diovanni
  • Divante
  • Donavan, Donevan, Donivan, Donnavan, Donnivan, Donnovan, Donovann
  • Donvan
  • Drevan
  • Duvan
  • Eavan
  • Eivan
  • Elvan
  • Erican
  • Ervan
  • Estevan
  • Evana, Evanna
  • Evanee, Evannie
  • Evanell, Evanelle
  • Evangel
  • Evangela
  • Evangelia
  • Evangelista
  • Evangelos
  • Evangely
  • Evangelena, Evanjelina
  • Evangelin, Evangelyn, Evangelynn
  • Evangelyne
  • Evani, Evanie, Evanni, Evannie
  • Evann, Evanne
  • Evannah
  • Evans
  • Evanshi
  • Evanston
  • Evanthe
  • Evanthia
  • Evany, Evanny
  • Gavan
  • Garvan
  • Geovana, Geovanna
  • Geovani, Geovanie, Geovany, Geovanni, Geovannie, Geovanny
  • Gevan
  • Giavana
  • Giavanni
  • Giovan, Giovann
  • Giovana
  • Giovani, Giovany, Giovannie, Giovanny
  • Govan
  • Gurvansh
  • Havan
  • Havana, Havanna, Havannah
  • Hovannes, Hovanes
  • Iovanna
  • Irvan
  • Istvan
  • Ivanell, Ivanelle
  • Ivanhoe
  • Ivani, Ivany
  • Ivania, Ivannia
  • Ivaniel
  • Ivanka
  • Ivann
  • Ivannah
  • Ivano
  • Ivansh
  • Ivanshika
  • Javan
  • Javana, Javanna
  • Javani
  • Javant
  • Javantay, Javante
  • Jeevan
  • Jeovanna
  • Jeovani, Jeovany, Jeovanni
  • Jiovana, Jiovanna
  • Jiovani, Jiovanni
  • Jivan
  • Johnavan, Jonovan, Jonavan
  • Jovan, Jovann
  • Jovana, Jovanna
  • Jovane, Jovanne
  • Jovanda
  • Jovania
  • Jovanie, Jovany, Jovannie, Jovanny
  • Jovanka
  • Jovante, Jovantae
  • Kavan
  • Kavanaugh
  • Kavani
  • Kavante
  • Kayvan
  • Keevan, Keivan, Keyvan
  • Kelvan
  • Ketevan
  • Kevan
  • Kevana, Kevanna
  • Kevante
  • Kovan
  • Kyvan
  • Lavan
  • Lavana, Lavanna
  • Lavance
  • Lavancha
  • Lavanda
  • Lavander
  • Lavania, Lavanya
  • Leevan
  • Leovani, Leovanni
  • Levan
  • Levana
  • Levance
  • Levander
  • Levane
  • Levant
  • Livan
  • Livana, Livanna
  • Lovanda
  • Lovann
  • Lovanna
  • Melvan
  • Merivan
  • Milovan
  • Navana
  • Navani, Navany
  • Neevan
  • Nevan
  • Nirvan
  • Nirvana
  • Norvan
  • Novani
  • Olivander, Ollivander
  • Orvan
  • Parvaneh
  • Pavan
  • Pavani
  • Radovan
  • Raevan
  • Ravan
  • Rayvan
  • Revan
  • Revanth
  • Rivan
  • Rizvan
  • Rovan
  • Rovanio
  • Sahvana, Sahvanna, Sahvannah
  • Sarvani
  • Savan
  • Savanaha, Savannaha
  • Savanha
  • Savana, Savanah
  • Sevanna, Cevanna
  • Savante
  • Servando, Cervando
  • Sevan
  • Sevana, Sevanna
  • Sharvani
  • Shavanda
  • Shavana, Shavanna, Shavannah
  • Shavante
  • Shivan
  • Shivang
  • Shivangi
  • Shivani
  • Shivank
  • Shivansh
  • Shivanya
  • Shovan
  • Shravan
  • Silvan, Sylvan
  • Silvana, Sylvana, Silvanna, Sylvanna
  • Silvano
  • Silvanus, Sylvanus
  • Sivan
  • Sivana
  • Sivani
  • Sivansh
  • Sovann
  • Sovanna
  • Sravan
  • Stevan
  • Stevana, Stevanna
  • Stevanie
  • Suvanna
  • Svana
  • Svanik
  • Sylvania
  • Syvanna, Syvannah
  • Tavan
  • Tavania
  • Tavanna
  • Tavante
  • Tevan
  • Tovan
  • Travante
  • Travanti
  • Trevan
  • Trevante
  • Treyvan
  • Tyvan
  • Vann
  • Vana, Vanna, Vannah
  • Vanae
  • Vanadey
  • Vanassa
  • Vanaya
  • Vanbawi
  • Vanburen
  • Vancil
  • Vanda
  • Vandalia
  • Vandawt
  • Vandela, Vandella
  • Vandelia
  • Vandell
  • Vandan
  • Vandana
  • Vanden
  • Vander
  • Vanderbilt
  • Vanderlei
  • Vandetta
  • Vandi, Vandy
  • Vandiver
  • Vandon
  • Vandora
  • Vandrea
  • Vane
  • Vanecia
  • Vaneda
  • Vaneeza
  • Vaneka
  • Vanella
  • Vanelope, Vanellope
  • Vanely, Vanelly
  • Vanesa, Vannesa, Vannessa, Vanessah
  • Vanesha
  • Vaneshia
  • Vanesia, Vanessia
  • Vaness, Vanesse
  • Vanester
  • Vaneta, Vanetta, Vannetta
  • Vanette, Vannette
  • Vaneza, Vanezza
  • Vangela
  • Vangie
  • Vani, Vanie, Vannie, Vanny
  • Vania, Vaniah, Vaniya, Vaniyah, Vannia
  • Vanice, Vanis, Vanise
  • Vanicia
  • Vanika
  • Vanilla
  • Vanille
  • Vanisa, Vanissa
  • Vanisha
  • Vanita
  • Vanity, Vanitie
  • Vang
  • Vannak
  • Vannara
  • Vannary
  • Vanner
  • Vannida
  • Vanora
  • Vansh
  • Vanshika
  • Vanshon
  • Vanson
  • Vantasia
  • Vanteen
  • Vantha
  • Vantrell
  • Vantrice
  • Vanus
  • Vannya
  • Vivan
  • Vivana
  • Yavanna
  • Yosvani
  • Yovan
  • Yovani, Yovany, Yovanny
  • Yovana, Yovanna
  • Yuvan
  • Yuvansh
  • Yvan
  • Yvana, Yvanna
  • Zaavan
  • Zavanah, Zavanna, Zavannah
  • Zevan

Some of the above are non-traditional spellings of more common names, such as Calvin, Kevin, Melvin, and Steven.

Which VAN name do you like most? Let me know in the comments!

P.S. Check out my list of names with CAR for more baby names featuring an automobile-themed letter sequence. :)

Sources:

Image by Ingo Doerrie from Unsplash

Parents fined for having baby, name baby after the fine

Vietnamese money

In 1987, Mai Van Cán and his wife, Do Thi Vân — a couple from Quang Nam province in central Vietnam — welcomed their fifth child.

The problem?

Several years earlier, Vietnam had put a two-child policy in place.

So, soon after the newborn arrived, the family was fined 6,500 dong (Vietnamese currency) by the government.

Mai was upset about this — his wife’s pregnancy had been unplanned, and he had to borrow money to pay the fine. In a fit of resentment, he named the baby boy Mai Phat Sáu Nghìn Ruoi, which loosely translates to “fined six thousand five hundred” (or, more precisely, “fine of six thousand and a half”).

Here are the definitions of each component of the given name:

In the late 1990s, local government officials tried to persuade Mai to change his son’s name, because the boy was being “constantly teased” by classmates.

He refused.

A few years later, they tried again.

This time, he relented.

So, in September of 2005, Mai Phat Sáu Nghìn Ruoi — now in his late teens — was renamed Mai Hoàng Long, meaning “golden dragon.”

(I had to remove most of the Vietnamese diacritics from this post because they don’t render properly on my site, unfortunately.)

Sources:

Image by Niels Steeman from Unsplash

Popular baby names in Armenia, 2021

Armenia

The landlocked country of Armenia is located in Western Asia and bordered by Turkey, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Iran.

Last year, Armenia welcomed over 36,600 babies — about 17,600 girls and about 19,000 boys.

What were the most popular names among these babies? Nare and Davit.

Here are Armenia’s top 50 girl names and top 50 boy names of 2021:

Girl Names

  1. Nare, 758 baby girls – a diminutive of Narine (which ranked 49th)
  2. Maria, 635
  3. Arpi, 540
  4. Mane, 493
  5. Angelina, 444
  6. Marie, 402
  7. Yeva, 396
  8. Mariam, 357
  9. Anahit, 338 – an Armenian goddess (related to the Persian goddess Anahita)
  10. Anna, 305
  11. Sofi, 302
  12. Ani, 294
  13. Ellen, 284
  14. Milena, 279
  15. Lyusie, 277
  16. Eva, 263
  17. Ariana, 259
  18. Adriana, 247
  19. Luse, 245
  20. Tatev, 237 – from the name of the Tatev monastery
  21. Yana, 231
  22. Gayane, 226
  23. Nane, 224 – an Armenian goddess
  24. Milla, 202
  25. Arina, 193
  26. Emily, 187
  27. Elina, 186 (tie)
  28. Sona, 186 (tie)
  29. Lilit, 176
  30. Natalie, 170
  31. Sarah, 160
  32. Amelie, 155
  33. Hasmik, 153 – means “jasmine” in Armenian
  34. Lia, 152
  35. Arevik, 148
  36. Mary, 146
  37. Susanna, 136
  38. Viktoria, 134
  39. Monika, 130
  40. Gohar, 123
  41. Karina, 112
  42. Lili, 100
  43. Sofia, 98
  44. Karine, 92
  45. Lusine, 89 (tie) – based on the Armenian word lusin, meaning “moon”
  46. Anush, 89 (tie) – means “sweet” in Armenian
  47. Lucy, 88
  48. Sofya, 83 (tie)
  49. Narine, 83 (tie)
  50. Astghik, 82 – an Armenian goddess whose name is a diminutive of the Old Armenian word for “star”

Boy Names

  1. Davit, 1,275 baby boys
  2. Narek, 859
  3. Monte, 647
  4. Tigran, 584 – a form of Tigranes, the name of several ancient Armenian kings
  5. Areg, 564
  6. Hayk, 550
  7. Mark, 507
  8. Michael, 448
  9. Alex, 385
  10. Aren, 355
  11. Armen, 346
  12. Robert, 339
  13. Daniel, 326
  14. Gor, 323
  15. Arthur, 321
  16. Aram, 318
  17. Leo, 310
  18. Hovhannes, 303
  19. Samvel, 298
  20. Alen, 287
  21. Ashot, 255 (tie)
  22. Arman, 255 (tie)
  23. Levon, 252
  24. Erik, 232
  25. Gevorg, 219
  26. Gagik, 213
  27. Vahe, 209
  28. Arsen, 195
  29. Sargis, 186
  30. Artiom, 176
  31. Vardan, 154
  32. Karen, 152 – In Armenia, Karen is a male name! (Tell that to the manager!) It’s a short form of the Armenian name Garegin/Karekin.
  33. Avet, 150
  34. Albert, 126
  35. Andranik, 118
  36. Van, 116 – possibly from the name of Lake Van…?
  37. Suren, 115
  38. Raphael, 110
  39. Max, 105
  40. Ruben, 100 (tie)
  41. Hakob, 100 (tie)
  42. Alexandr, 97
  43. Mher, 95
  44. Grigor, 94
  45. Harutyun, 90
  46. Vahan, 80 – means “shield” in Armenian
  47. Edgar, 75
  48. Menua, 73 (tie) – the name of an ancient Armenian king
  49. Henry, 73 (tie)
  50. Noy, 67

Here’s a link to Armenia’s 2020 rankings, if you’d like to compare last year to the year before.

Sources: Statistical Committee of the Republic of Armenia (2021 pdf), Behind the Name
Image by DenisStreltsov from Pixabay

Baby name story: Champ

Super Bowl LVI logo

While Los Angeles Rams wide receiver Vanchi LaShawn “Van” Jefferson was playing in Super Bowl LVI last month, his pregnant wife Samaria suddenly went into labor (several days early).

Samaria was forced to leave SoFi Stadium mid-game — before the Rams eventually beat the Bengals, 23-20 — to go to her birthing center.

Not long after the game ended, the couple welcomed a baby boy.

They considered the names Miles and Wynn, but finally settled on Champ, which Van said was “very fitting for the type of situation we just had.”

(I discovered this story via Appellation Mountain — thanks Abby!)

Sources: Van Jefferson’s wife, Samaria, leaves Super Bowl 2022 in labor, Van Jefferson Reveals the ‘Fitting’ Name He and His Wife Gave Their Baby, Van Jefferson announces fitting name of son who was born on night of Rams’ Super Bowl victory, Van Jefferson – Wikipedia