Van
A Dutch name derived from the surname meaning "from the meadow".
Name Census estimates that about 20,707 living Americans carry the first name Van. It is a predominantly male name (94.3% of registrations). The average person named Van today is around 48 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Van births was 1953 (591 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Van. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Van with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
21K
~ 1 in 16,553 Americans
Peak year
1953
591 babies that year
Average age
48
years old
2024 SSA rank
#907
Tracked since 1880
Census
Van in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 35,599 people with the first name Van, which placed it at #1,136 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#1,136
National first-name rank
People counted
36K
35,599 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
11.8
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Asian and Pacific Islander
52.8% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Van
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Van is Asian/Pacific Islander at 52.8%. The next largest groups are White (33.9%) and Black (9.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Van described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Van at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Asian and Pacific Islander52.8% · 18,812
- White33.9% · 12,056
- Black or African American9.0% · 3,208
- Two or more races2.1% · 764
- Hispanic or Latino1.8% · 627
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 132
Gender
Gender distribution for Van
Van leans heavily male at 94.3% of total registrations, but 1,754 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Van as a male name
- Ranked #907 in 2024
- 257 male births in 2024
- Peak: 1953 (572 births)
Van as a female name
- Ranked #10,181 in 2024
- 10 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1983 (58 births)
2020 Census snapshot
The 2020 Census sex table shows Van on both sides of the split. Of the 35,602 people counted with this name, 24,121 were male (67.8%) and 11,481 were female (32.2%).
Popularity
Van: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Van from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 5,279 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1950s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Van by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Van during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Vans live
The SSA's state-level files cover 43 states and territories. Texas, California, North Carolina recorded the most babies named Van, while North Dakota, South Dakota, Connecticut recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 537 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Van
The name Van has its origins in the Armenian language and culture, dating back to the ancient kingdom of Armenia in the 2nd century BC. The name is derived from the Armenian word "van," which means "monastery" or "convent." This suggests that the name may have been initially given to individuals associated with religious institutions or those who dedicated their lives to spiritual pursuits.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Van can be found in the Armenian epic poem "Daredevils of Sassoun," written in the 8th century AD. The poem mentions a character named Van, who was a skilled warrior and hero. This literary reference indicates that the name was in use during the medieval period in Armenian society.
In the 5th century AD, an Armenian scholar and philosopher named Van Khosrov made significant contributions to the fields of mathematics and astronomy. He is credited with writing several treatises on these subjects and is considered one of the most prominent intellectuals of his time.
During the Byzantine Empire, a notable figure named Van Callinicus, an Armenian architect and engineer, is believed to have invented the incendiary weapon known as "Greek fire" in the 7th century AD. This weapon played a crucial role in the defense of Constantinople against Arab invaders.
In the 12th century, a prominent Armenian prince named Van Vahram Pahlavuni led a rebellion against the Seljuk Turks, seeking to establish an independent Armenian kingdom. Although his uprising was eventually suppressed, Van Vahram Pahlavuni is remembered as a valiant leader who fought for Armenian sovereignty.
Another notable figure with the name Van was Van Yegan, an Armenian military commander who served under the Georgian king David IV in the 12th century. Van Yegan played a vital role in the campaigns against the Seljuk Turks and was renowned for his bravery and strategic prowess on the battlefield.
These examples demonstrate that the name Van has been present in Armenian history and culture for centuries, with various individuals bearing this name achieving prominence in various fields, including literature, philosophy, engineering, and military leadership.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Van
People
Van + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Van as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with V
Other first names starting with V with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Van: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Van?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 20,707 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Van going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 16,553 US residents.
Is Van a common name?
We classify Van as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.5% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 30,949 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Van most popular?
The single biggest year for Van was 1953, when 591 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Van is about 48 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Van in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 35,599 people with the name Van, or 11.79 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #1,136 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Van in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Van?
The 2020 Census sex table shows Van on both sides of the split. Of the 35,602 people counted with this name, 24,121 were male (67.8%) and 11,481 were female (32.2%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Van?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Van is Asian/Pacific Islander at 52.8%. The next largest groups are White (33.9%) and Black (9.0%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Van most often in the Census?
Asian/Pacific Islander is the largest reported group for people named Van in the 2020 Census, accounting for 52.8% (18,812 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Van in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Van a male name?
Yes, 94.3% of people registered as Van in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Van still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Van in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Van can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people have the name Van?
For a quick modern take, check how many people share the name Van on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.