Vandiver
A variant of the name Vandiver meaning "from Vendue", referring to an auction.
Name Census estimates that about 0 living Americans carry the first name Vandiver. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Vandiver today is around 0 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Vandiver births was 1918 (6 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Vandiver. 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 Vandiver. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
0
~ - Americans
Peak year
1918
6 babies that year
Average age
-
1918 SSA rank
#4,137
Tracked since 1918
Popularity
Vandiver: popularity over time
Babies born per year
Decades
Vandiver 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 Vandiver during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
| Decade | Male | Female | Total |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1910s | 6 | 0 | 6 |
Origin
Meaning and history of Vandiver
The given name Vandiver is of English origin, derived from the Old English words "fenn" meaning marsh or fen, and "dīc" meaning dike or embankment. The name likely originated in the Middle Ages, referring to someone who lived near a marshland or worked as a dike builder or maintainer.
Vandiver is a relatively uncommon name, and there are few historical records or references to it in ancient texts or scriptures. However, some of the earliest recorded instances of the name can be found in parish records and census data from England and the United States in the 17th and 18th centuries.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Vandiver was John Vandiver, born in England around 1630. He later immigrated to the American colonies and settled in Virginia, where he is recorded as a landowner and farmer in the late 17th century.
Another notable figure was Captain William Vandiver, an American Revolutionary War soldier from Maryland. He served in the Continental Army and participated in several major battles, including the Battle of Monmouth in 1778.
In the 19th century, Ezekiel Vandiver (1817-1899) was a prominent politician from Kentucky. He served as a member of the Kentucky House of Representatives and the Kentucky Senate, and was also a delegate to the Confederate Provisional Congress during the American Civil War.
One of the most famous individuals with the name Vandiver was Frank Vandiver (1925-2005), an American historian and author. He was a professor at Rice University and wrote extensively on the American Civil War, including his acclaimed biography "Mighty Stonewall," about Confederate General Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson.
Another notable figure was Willard Vandiver (1913-1993), an American politician who served as the 73rd Governor of Georgia from 1959 to 1963. He was known for his support of racial integration and his efforts to improve the state's education system.
While not a common name, Vandiver has been carried by individuals throughout history, particularly in England and the United States, with roots dating back to the Middle Ages and a connection to marshlands and dike construction.
People
Vandiver + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Vandiver 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
Vandiver: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Vandiver?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 0 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Vandiver 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 - US residents.
Is Vandiver a common name?
We classify Vandiver as "Very Rare". It ranks above 2.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 6 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Vandiver most popular?
The single biggest year for Vandiver was 1918, when 6 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Vandiver is about 0 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
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 Vandiver in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Vandiver a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Vandiver 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 Vandiver still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Vandiver 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 Vandiver 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.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only covers names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files do not have a published Census demographic snapshot. In those cases, the page still shows the SSA trend, gender history, and state data.
How many people are called Vandiver?
Want to know how many people share the name Vandiver? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.