Vanice
Variant spelling of the feminine name Janice, of Latin origin meaning "God is gracious".
Name Census estimates that about 91 living Americans carry the first name Vanice. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Vanice today is around 62 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Vanice births was 1939 (9 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Vanice. 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 Vanice. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
91
~ 1 in 3,766,531 Americans
Peak year
1939
9 babies that year
Average age
62
years old
1990 SSA rank
#12,898
Tracked since 1920
Popularity
Vanice: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Vanice from the 1920s through to the 1990s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1950s, with 38 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
Vanice 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 Vanice 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 Vanice
The name Vanice is believed to have originated from the Latin language. It is a feminine form of the name Vanus, which means "empty" or "void." The name first appeared in ancient Roman texts and records around the 1st century AD.
In the early days of Christianity, the name Vanice was sometimes associated with the concept of humility or emptying oneself of pride and ego. Some religious scholars suggest that it may have been influenced by the biblical phrase "vanity of vanities," which appears in the Book of Ecclesiastes.
The earliest recorded use of the name Vanice can be traced back to a Roman noblewoman named Vanice Aurelia, who lived in the 3rd century AD. She was known for her philanthropy and charitable works.
In the 5th century, there was a Christian martyr named Vanice of Antioch, who was persecuted and executed for her faith during the reign of the Roman Emperor Diocletian.
During the Middle Ages, the name Vanice became more widespread across Europe. One notable figure was Vanice de Montfort, a French noblewoman and crusader who participated in the Albigensian Crusade in the early 13th century.
In the Renaissance period, the name Vanice was associated with the Italian city of Venice. A famous example is Vanice Venier, a Venetian noblewoman and patron of the arts who lived in the 16th century.
Another notable figure was Vanice Caravaggio, an Italian painter from the late 16th century, known for her realistic and emotionally charged works.
Over the centuries, the name Vanice has undergone various spelling variations, such as Vanyce, Vanise, and Vanessa. It has been used in various cultures and languages, although its popularity has waxed and waned throughout history.
People
Vanice + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Vanice 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
Vanice: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Vanice?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 91 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Vanice 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 3,766,531 US residents.
Is Vanice a common name?
We classify Vanice as "Very Rare". It ranks above 63.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 161 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Vanice most popular?
The single biggest year for Vanice was 1939, when 9 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Vanice is about 62 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Vanice a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Vanice 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.