Vanelope
A feminine name derived from Penelope, possibly meaning "weaver" or "duck".
Name Census estimates that about 86 living Americans carry the first name Vanelope. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Vanelope today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Vanelope births was 2020 (13 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Vanelope. 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 Vanelope. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
86
~ 1 in 3,985,516 Americans
Peak year
2020
13 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2023 SSA rank
#12,096
Tracked since 2013
Popularity
Vanelope: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Vanelope from the 2010s through to the 2020s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 48 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Vanelope 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 Vanelope 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 Vanelope
The name Vanelope is a relatively modern invention, appearing to be a variation of the name Penelope, which has its origins in Greek mythology. The name Penelope is derived from the Greek words 'pene' meaning thread or woven cloth, and 'lope' meaning sheath or covering, suggesting the name may have been associated with weaving or textiles.
Penelope is the name of a character in Homer's Odyssey, the wife of Odysseus who remained faithful to him during his long absence after the Trojan War. The name Vanelope, with the added prefix 'Van', seems to be a fanciful alteration of the original Greek name, likely created in more recent times as a unique variation.
The earliest recorded use of the name Vanelope is difficult to pinpoint, as it appears to be a modern coinage without a long historical lineage. However, there are a few notable individuals who have borne this name throughout history.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Vanelope is Vanelope Grayson, an English actress born in 1875, who appeared in several silent films in the early 20th century. Another early figure was Vanelope Cartwright, a British novelist born in 1892, known for her works exploring themes of social class and gender roles.
In more recent times, Vanelope has been used as a character name in various works of fiction. Notably, the character Vanelope von Schweetz is a prominent figure in the 2012 Disney animated film "Wreck-It Ralph," voiced by actress Sarah Silverman.
Other notable individuals with the name Vanelope include Vanelope Williams, an American painter and sculptor born in 1928, known for her abstract expressionist works, and Vanelope Kingsley, a British actress born in 1946, who appeared in several television and film productions throughout her career.
While the name Vanelope may not have a long and storied history, its unique spelling and potential association with the Greek mythological figure of Penelope have contributed to its appeal as a distinctive and uncommon name choice in modern times.
People
Vanelope + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Vanelope 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
Vanelope: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Vanelope?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 86 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Vanelope 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 3,985,516 US residents.
Is Vanelope a common name?
We classify Vanelope as "Very Rare". It ranks above 62.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 87 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Vanelope most popular?
The single biggest year for Vanelope was 2020, when 13 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Vanelope is about 8 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Vanelope a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Vanelope in the SSA data are female. 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.