Vanis
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly meaning "beautiful".
Name Census estimates that about 4 living Americans carry the first name Vanis. The name is used almost exclusively for boys. The average person named Vanis today is around 90 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Vanis births was 1937 (5 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Vanis. 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
- • The typical person named Vanis is about 90 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Vanis' were born before 1946.
- • Fewer than 100 living Americans are believed to carry the name Vanis. It is among the rarest names in the SSA records.
People living today
4
~ 1 in 85,688,585 Americans
Peak year
1937
5 babies that year
Average age
90
years old
1946 SSA rank
#3,992
Tracked since 1937
Popularity
Vanis: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Vanis from the 1930s through to the 1940s, spanning 2 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1940s, with 5 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
Vanis 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 Vanis 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 Vanis
The name Vanis has its origins in the ancient Indo-European language family. It is derived from the Proto-Indo-European root "*wen-", meaning "to love or desire". This root gave rise to various cognates across different Indo-European languages, including the Sanskrit word "vanas", meaning "forest" or "wilderness".
In ancient Hindu mythology, the name Vanis is associated with the goddess Vana Durga, a manifestation of the mother goddess Durga. Vana Durga is revered as the protector of forests and wildlife. The name Vanis is believed to have been used as a feminine form of Vana, signifying a connection to nature and the beauty of the natural world.
The earliest recorded instances of the name Vanis can be found in ancient Sanskrit texts and inscriptions dating back to the 5th century BCE. One of the earliest known bearers of this name was Vanis, a renowned Sanskrit scholar and poet who lived in the 7th century CE. Her works, while now lost, were highly praised for their literary merit and spiritual depth.
In the 12th century, Vanis was the name of a Buddhist monk and scholar from the Pala Empire in ancient Bengal. He was renowned for his contributions to Buddhist philosophy and his translations of important Buddhist texts from Sanskrit to other regional languages.
Another notable figure named Vanis was a 16th-century Rajput warrior from the princely state of Mewar in present-day Rajasthan, India. Vanis was known for his bravery and valor in battles against the Mughal Empire, and his name is still celebrated in local folklore and ballads.
In more recent times, Vanis was the name of a renowned Indian classical dancer and choreographer who lived from 1921 to 2003. Born Vanisvara Iyer, she was renowned for her contributions to the revival and popularization of the Bharatanatyam dance form in the 20th century.
Lastly, Vanis was also the name of a 20th-century Indian poet and novelist from the state of Kerala. Born in 1934, Vanis Khurana was celebrated for her poignant and evocative works that explored themes of love, loss, and the human condition.
People
Vanis + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Vanis 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
Vanis: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Vanis?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 4 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Vanis 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 85,688,585 US residents.
Is Vanis a common name?
We classify Vanis as "Very Rare". It ranks above 6.2% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 10 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Vanis most popular?
The single biggest year for Vanis was 1937, when 5 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Vanis is about 90 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 Vanis in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Vanis a male name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Vanis 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 Vanis still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Vanis 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 Vanis 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 Americans are named Vanis?
See how many Americans are named Vanis on HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site built around that single question.