Vandell
An invented name, likely related to the words "vandal" or "vandalize".
Name Census estimates that about 77 living Americans carry the first name Vandell. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Vandell today is around 48 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Vandell births was 1988 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Vandell. 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.
Key insights
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Vandell. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
77
~ 1 in 4,451,355 Americans
Peak year
1988
9 babies that year
Average age
48
years old
1999 SSA rank
#8,661
Tracked since 1946
Popularity
Vandell: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Vandell from the 1940s through to the 1990s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 26 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Vandell remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Vandell 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 Vandell during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Origin
Meaning and history of Vandell
The name Vandell is of uncertain origin, with no clear consensus among scholars regarding its linguistic roots or cultural provenance. Some suggest it may derive from the Old English name Wandel or Wandill, meaning "wanderer" or "traveler," though evidence for this connection is scant.
Another theory posits that Vandell could have origins in the Germanic languages, potentially linked to the Old Norse word "vandr," meaning "difficult" or "troublesome." However, this proposed etymology is tenuous and lacks substantive historical documentation.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Vandell are found in medieval European records, particularly in regions now part of modern-day Germany and the Netherlands. One notable bearer of the name was Vandell von Stralsund, a 14th-century German merchant and explorer who sailed to the Baltic regions and is mentioned in several contemporary chronicles.
In the 16th century, a Vandell Meier is listed as a Protestant reformer and theologian in the city of Nuremberg, contributing to the spread of Lutheran teachings in the region. Details about his life and works are scarce, but he is mentioned in some historical accounts of the Reformation era.
Moving forward to the 18th century, Vandell Cornelius was a Dutch artist known for his intricate landscape paintings and depictions of rural life. His works were popular among the Dutch elite and can be found in several prestigious art collections across Europe.
In the 19th century, Vandell Beauregard was a French military officer who served under Napoleon Bonaparte during the Napoleonic Wars. He is noted for his role in the Battle of Waterloo and is mentioned in various historical accounts of the campaign.
Finally, in the early 20th century, Vandell Eriksson was a Swedish engineer and inventor who patented several innovative designs for textile machinery, contributing to the modernization of the country's textile industry. His inventions were widely adopted across Scandinavia and beyond.
While the name Vandell has a somewhat obscure history and uncertain origins, these examples demonstrate its sporadic use throughout various regions of Europe over several centuries, often associated with individuals who made notable contributions in their respective fields.
People
Vandell + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Vandell 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
Vandell: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Vandell?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 77 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Vandell 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 4,451,355 US residents.
Is Vandell a common name?
We classify Vandell as "Very Rare". It ranks above 60.7% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 86 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Vandell most popular?
The single biggest year for Vandell was 1988, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Vandell is about 48 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Vandell a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Vandell 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.
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.