How popular is the baby name Van in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see 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

What gave the baby name Dorinda a boost in 1944?

The character Dorinda from the movie "A Guy Named Joe" (1943)
Dorinda from “A Guy Named Joe

According to the U.S. baby name data, the name Dorinda saw a sharp spike in usage in the mid-1940s:

  • 1946: 72 baby girls named Dorinda [rank: 989th]
  • 1945: 81 baby girls named Dorinda [rank: 841st]
  • 1944: 147 baby girls named Dorinda [rank: 607th]
  • 1943: 22 baby girls named Dorinda
  • 1942: 24 baby girls named Dorinda

It was the fastest-rising baby name of 1944, in fact.

Several Dorinda-like names got a boost around that time as well:

194319441945
Drenda.50†37
Drinda.22*20
Dorenda.11*5
Darenda.9*.
Derinda.7*6
Dirinda.7*.
Durinda.7*6
Derenda.7*6
Darinda..6*
*Debut, †Peak usage

(Dirinda was a one-hit wonder.)

The name Dorinda would have sounded fashionable in the 1940s — a decade during which names like Linda, Brenda, Glenda, and Wanda ranked inside the girls’ top 100. But its sudden trendiness can be traced back to a specific influence: a movie character.

The romance/fantasy film A Guy Named Joe (which did not feature any characters named Joe, incidentally) was released in March of 1944. It went on to become one of the highest-grossing films of the year.

The main character was WWII bomber pilot Pete Sandridge (played by Spencer Tracy). After being killed in action — and leaving behind his girlfriend Dorinda (played by Irene Dunne) — he found himself in the afterlife, where he was told to return to Earth as a guardian angel. His first assignment was a young military pilot named Ted (played by Van Johnson). Eventually, Ted happened to meet, and fall for, a grieving Dorinda — which made things complicated for Pete.

What are your thoughts on the name Dorinda? Would you use it?

Sources: A Guy Named Joe – Wikipedia, A Guy Named Joe (1944) – Turner Classic Movies, 1944 in film – Wikipedia, SSA

Image: Screenshot of A Guy Named Joe

Most popular baby boy names (letter by letter) in the U.S. in 2023

First letter usage for baby boy names in the U.S. in 2023

Going letter by letter, what were last year’s most popular baby boy names?

Before we get to the lists, a few quick facts:

  • The most common first letter for boy names in 2023 was J (used 10.98% of the time), followed by A (10.51%) and M (7.60%).
  • The least common first letter for boy names in 2023 was U (used 0.15% of the time), followed by Q (0.16%) and X (0.40%).
  • The first letter that increased the most in usage for boy names (from 2022 to 2023) was T.
  • The first letter that decreased the most in usage for boy names (from 2022 to 2023) was J.

Top boy names starting with A:

  1. Alexander, 7,875 baby boys
  2. Asher, 7,853
  3. Aiden, 6,675
  4. Anthony, 6,237
  5. Angel, 4,865
  6. Andrew, 4,781
  7. Adrian, 4,646
  8. Aaron, 4,551
  9. Axel, 4,498
  10. Amir, 3,620

Top boy names starting with B:

  1. Benjamin, 10,172 baby boys
  2. Brooks, 4,469
  3. Bennett, 4,411
  4. Beau, 4,090
  5. Bryson, 2,434
  6. Brayden, 2,274
  7. Braxton, 2,128
  8. Bentley, 1,906
  9. Beckett, 1,865
  10. Beckham, 1,829

Top boy names starting with C:

  1. Carter, 5,847 baby boys
  2. Caleb, 5,488
  3. Cooper, 5,425
  4. Charles, 5,395
  5. Christopher, 5,171
  6. Cameron, 5,069
  7. Christian, 4,125
  8. Colton, 3,696
  9. Carson, 3,200
  10. Connor, 2,855

Top boy names starting with D:

  1. Daniel, 8,356 baby boys
  2. David, 7,354
  3. Dylan, 7,054
  4. Dominic, 3,395
  5. Damian, 3,281
  6. Declan, 2,799
  7. Diego, 2,734
  8. Dawson, 2,439
  9. Dean, 2,281
  10. Dallas, 1,375

Top boy names starting with E:

  1. Elijah, 11,452 baby boys
  2. Ezra, 8,437
  3. Ethan, 7,763
  4. Elias, 6,980
  5. Ezekiel, 5,569
  6. Eli, 4,081
  7. Everett, 3,808
  8. Enzo, 3,796
  9. Easton, 3,637
  10. Emmett, 3,061

Top boy names starting with F:

  1. Finn, 1,907 baby boys
  2. Felix, 1,894
  3. Finley, 1,171
  4. Francisco, 1,121
  5. Fernando, 967
  6. Franklin, 776
  7. Forrest, 737
  8. Francis, 670
  9. Fabian, 656
  10. Frank, 646

Top boy names starting with G:

  1. Gabriel, 6,745 baby boys
  2. Grayson, 6,449
  3. Gael, 3,616
  4. Greyson, 3,065
  5. Giovanni, 2,911
  6. George, 2,689
  7. Graham, 2,533
  8. Griffin, 1,722
  9. Grant, 1,539
  10. Gavin, 1,512

Top boy names starting with H:

  1. Henry, 10,941 baby boys
  2. Hudson, 7,935
  3. Hunter, 3,110
  4. Harrison, 3,060
  5. Hayden, 2,219
  6. Hayes, 1,746
  7. Holden, 1,171
  8. Hendrix, 1,084
  9. Harvey, 1,022
  10. Hector, 828

Top boy names starting with I:

  1. Isaac, 6,581 baby boys
  2. Isaiah, 5,121
  3. Ian, 4,538
  4. Ivan, 2,384
  5. Israel, 1,530
  6. Ismael, 1,421
  7. Iker, 915
  8. Ibrahim, 774
  9. Isaias, 700
  10. Izaiah, 491

Top boy names starting with J:

  1. James, 11,670 baby boys
  2. Jack, 8,683
  3. John, 7,750
  4. Jackson, 7,284
  5. Joseph, 7,237
  6. Julian, 7,078
  7. Jacob, 6,976
  8. Jayden, 5,627
  9. Josiah, 5,404
  10. Joshua, 5,035

Top boy names starting with K:

  1. Kai, 4,946 baby boys
  2. Kayden, 3,120
  3. Kingston, 2,511
  4. Kaiden, 2,126
  5. Kevin, 1,914
  6. Knox, 1,770
  7. Karter, 1,590
  8. Kairo, 1,484
  9. Kyrie, 1,474
  10. Kash, 1,316

Top boy names starting with L:

  1. Liam, 20,802 baby boys
  2. Lucas, 10,842
  3. Levi, 9,347
  4. Leo, 8,120
  5. Luca, 7,770
  6. Luke, 7,217
  7. Logan, 6,686
  8. Lincoln, 4,842
  9. Leonardo, 4,012
  10. Luka, 3,650

Top boy names starting with M:

  1. Mateo, 11,229 baby boys
  2. Michael, 8,383
  3. Mason, 7,237
  4. Matthew, 7,190
  5. Maverick, 6,962
  6. Miles, 6,558
  7. Micah, 3,875
  8. Myles, 3,399
  9. Milo, 2,950
  10. Matteo, 2,503

Top boy names starting with N:

  1. Noah, 18,995 baby boys
  2. Nolan, 5,112
  3. Nathan, 5,049
  4. Nicholas, 3,242
  5. Nathaniel, 2,507
  6. Nicolas, 1,886
  7. Nico, 1,462
  8. Nash, 1,328
  9. Niko, 1,033
  10. Nasir, 739

Top boy names starting with O:

  1. Oliver, 14,741 baby boys
  2. Owen, 7,985
  3. Oscar, 1,693
  4. Omar, 1,306
  5. Otto, 1,191
  6. Onyx, 1,069
  7. Odin, 897
  8. Orion, 861
  9. Oakley, 799
  10. Ozzy, 526

Top boy names starting with P:

  1. Parker, 3,792 baby boys
  2. Peter, 1,738
  3. Patrick, 1,596
  4. Paul, 1,351 (tie)
  5. Paxton, 1,351 (tie)
  6. Phoenix, 1,243
  7. Preston, 1,228
  8. Prince, 885
  9. Pablo, 850
  10. Pedro, 753

Top boy names starting with Q:

  1. Quinn, 685 baby boys
  2. Quincy, 401
  3. Quentin, 334
  4. Quinton, 301
  5. Quintin, 120
  6. Quinten, 88
  7. Quest, 84
  8. Quadir, 70
  9. Quade, 53
  10. Qasim, 51

Top boy names starting with R:

  1. Roman, 4,777 baby boys
  2. Rowan, 4,195
  3. Ryan, 4,020
  4. Robert, 3,807
  5. River, 3,084
  6. Ryder, 2,822
  7. Rhett, 2,183
  8. Ryker, 1,976
  9. Richard, 1,638
  10. Riley, 1,627

Top boy names starting with S:

  1. Sebastian, 8,865 baby boys
  2. Samuel, 7,973
  3. Santiago, 6,328
  4. Silas, 4,070
  5. Sawyer, 2,833
  6. Stetson, 1,987
  7. Simon, 1,398
  8. Steven, 1,387
  9. Saint, 1,059
  10. Sonny, 924

Top boy names starting with T:

  1. Theodore, 11,041 baby boys
  2. Thomas, 6,598
  3. Thiago, 4,505
  4. Theo, 4,122
  5. Tyler, 2,064
  6. Tate, 1,845
  7. Tucker, 1,802
  8. Timothy, 1,733
  9. Tatum, 1,492
  10. Tristan, 1,373

Top boy names starting with U:

  1. Uriel, 606 baby boys
  2. Uriah, 378
  3. Ulises, 221
  4. Ulysses, 169
  5. Umar, 152
  6. Uziel, 111
  7. Usman, 86
  8. Unknown, 67
  9. Uzziah, 65
  10. Uri, 60

Top boy names starting with V:

  1. Vincent, 2,982 baby boys
  2. Victor, 1,687
  3. Valentino, 575
  4. Vicente, 441
  5. Valentin, 372
  6. Vincenzo, 352
  7. Vihaan, 280
  8. Van, 252
  9. Vance, 236
  10. Veer, 224

Top boy names starting with W:

  1. William, 10,598 baby boys
  2. Wyatt, 6,237
  3. Waylon, 4,881
  4. Wesley, 4,539
  5. Weston, 4,356
  6. Walker, 4,006
  7. Walter, 1,272
  8. Warren, 1,080
  9. Wade, 971
  10. Winston, 797

Top boy names starting with X:

  1. Xavier, 3,413 baby boys
  2. Xander, 1,700
  3. Xzavier, 153
  4. Xavi, 118
  5. Xavion, 111
  6. Xaiden, 101
  7. Xavien, 94
  8. Xavian, 91
  9. Xion, 85
  10. Xayden, 65

Top boy names starting with Y:

  1. Yusuf, 610 baby boys
  2. Yosef, 444
  3. Yael, 328
  4. Yehuda, 318
  5. Yousef, 297
  6. Yahir, 290
  7. Yahya, 263
  8. Yadiel, 242
  9. Yaakov, 231
  10. Yisroel, 228

Top boy names starting with Z:

  1. Zion, 2,867 baby boys
  2. Zachary, 2,112
  3. Zayden, 1,898
  4. Zayn, 1,413
  5. Zane, 1,220
  6. Zyaire, 1,029
  7. Zander, 924
  8. Zayne, 717
  9. Zaire, 654
  10. Zaiden, 567

Source: SSA

Baby names with VAN: Vance, Giovanna, Donovan

van

Looking for baby names that contain the word VAN?

If so, you’re in luck!

Because below you’ll find a long list of names that contain the letter sequence “v-a-n.” Most of these names come directly from the U.S. SSA’s baby name data.

  • Aadhavan
  • Aivan
  • Alvan
  • Alvana
  • Alvania
  • Antvan
  • Avan
  • Avana, Avanna, Avannah
  • Avanel, Avanell, Avanelle
  • Avangelia
  • Avangelina
  • Avani
  • 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
  • Donovan, Donavan, Donevan, Donivan, Donnavan, Donnivan, Donnovan, Donovann
  • Donvan
  • Drevan
  • Duvan
  • Eavan
  • Eivan
  • Elvan
  • Erican
  • Ervan
  • Estevan
  • Evan, Evann, Evanne
  • Evana, Evanna
  • Evander
  • Evanee, Evannie
  • Evanell, Evanelle
  • Evangel
  • Evangela
  • Evangelia
  • Evangelina, Evangelena, Evanjelina
  • Evangeline, Evangelyne
  • Evangelista
  • Evangelos
  • Evangely
  • Evangelynn, Evangelyn, Evangelin
  • Evani, Evanie, Evanni, Evannie
  • Evannah
  • Evans
  • Evanshi
  • Evanston
  • Evanthe
  • Evanthia
  • Evany, Evanny
  • Gavan
  • Garvan
  • Geovana, Geovanna
  • Geovani, Geovanie, Geovany, Geovanni, Geovannie, Geovanny
  • Gevan
  • Giavanna, Giavana
  • Giavanni
  • Giovan, Giovann
  • Giovanna, Giovana
  • Giovanni, Giovani, Giovany, Giovannie, Giovanny
  • Giovannina
  • Giovannino
  • Govan
  • Gurvansh
  • Havan
  • Havana, Havanna, Havannah
  • Hovannes, Hovanes
  • Iovanna
  • Irvan
  • Istvan
  • Ivana, Ivanna, Ivannah
  • Ivanell, Ivanelle
  • Ivanhoe
  • Ivani, Ivany
  • Ivania, Ivannia
  • Ivaniel
  • Ivanka
  • Ivan, Ivann
  • 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
  • Jovanni, Jovani, Jovannie, Jovanny, Jovanie, Jovany
  • 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
  • Sarvani
  • Savan
  • Savanaha, Savannaha
  • Savanha
  • Savannah, Savanna, Savanah, Savana, Sahvannah, Sahvanna, Sahvana
  • Sevannah, Sevanna, Sevana, Cevanna
  • Savante
  • Servando, Cervando
  • Sevan
  • 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
  • Sullivan
  • Suvanna
  • Svana
  • Svanik
  • Sylvania
  • Syvanna, Syvannah
  • Tavan
  • Tavania
  • Tavanna
  • Tavante
  • Tevan
  • Tovan
  • Travante
  • Travanti
  • Trevan
  • Trevante
  • Treyvan
  • Tyvan
  • Van, Vann
  • Vana, Vanna, Vannah
  • Vanae
  • Vanadey
  • Vanassa
  • Vanaya
  • Vanbawi
  • Vanburen
  • Vance
  • 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
  • Vanesha
  • Vaneshia
  • Vanesia, Vanessia
  • Vaness, Vanesse
  • Vanessa, Vanesa, Vannesa, Vannessa, Vanessah
  • 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
  • Vanni
  • Vannida
  • Vanora
  • Vansh
  • Vanshika
  • Vanshon
  • Vanson
  • Vantasia
  • Vanteen
  • Vantha
  • Vantrell
  • Vantrice
  • Vanus
  • Vanya, 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. :)

Source: SSA

Image: Adapted from Dodge A100 van in orange – right side by Steve Morgan under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Parents, fined for having baby, name baby after fine

Vietnamese 5-dong banknote

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: Adapted from South Vietnam 5 Dong 1955 (public domain)