Vanna
A feminine name derived from the Persian word "van" meaning "holy."
Name Census estimates that about 1,747 living Americans carry the first name Vanna. It is a predominantly female name (97.1% of registrations). The average person named Vanna today is around 29 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Vanna births was 1986 (122 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Vanna. 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
- • Although Vanna is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 59 boys registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
1.7K
~ 1 in 196,196 Americans
Peak year
1986
122 babies that year
Average age
29
years old
1991 SSA rank
#3,802
Tracked since 1905
Gender
Gender distribution for Vanna
Vanna leans heavily female at 97.1% of total registrations, but 59 boys have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Vanna as a male name
- Ranked #8,195 in 1991
- 6 male births in 1991
- Peak: 1987 (14 births)
Vanna as a female name
- Ranked #3,802 in 2024
- 40 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1986 (111 births)
Popularity
Vanna: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Vanna from the 1900s through to the 2020s, spanning 13 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 513 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1980s peak, Vanna remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Vanna 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 Vanna during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Vannas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 16 states and territories. California, Texas, Florida recorded the most babies named Vanna, while South Carolina, Pennsylvania, Missouri recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 21 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Vanna
The name Vanna is of Latin origin, derived from the feminine form of the name Vannus, meaning "fan" or "winnowing fan." It is believed to have emerged during the ancient Roman era, around the 1st century AD.
One of the earliest known references to the name Vanna can be found in the writings of the Roman historian Tacitus, who mentioned a woman named Vanna in his work "Annals." This suggests that the name was already in use during the early days of the Roman Empire.
In the Middle Ages, the name Vanna gained popularity in Italy, particularly in the regions of Tuscany and Umbria. It was often associated with the agricultural traditions of these areas, where winnowing fans were commonly used to separate grain from chaff.
One notable historical figure with the name Vanna was Vanna d'Arezzo (1391-1457), an Italian nun and mystic from the city of Arezzo. She was known for her religious visions and writings, which earned her a reputation for holiness and piety.
Another prominent individual named Vanna was Vanna Bonta (1954-2018), an American poet, novelist, and artist. She was known for her works exploring themes of feminism, environmentalism, and spirituality.
In the realm of literature, the name Vanna appears in the works of the Italian author Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-1375). In his famous work "The Decameron," one of the characters is named Vanna.
Additionally, the name Vanna was used by the Italian Renaissance painter Sandro Botticelli (1445-1510) in his famous painting "The Birth of Venus." One of the figures in the painting, believed to represent the wind, is named Vanna.
While the name Vanna has its roots in ancient Roman and Italian culture, it has also been adopted and used in other parts of the world over the centuries, though its prevalence and usage vary across different regions and cultures.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Vanna
People
Vanna + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Vanna 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
Vanna: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Vanna?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,747 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Vanna 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 196,196 US residents.
Is Vanna a common name?
We classify Vanna as "Rare". It ranks above 93.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 2,010 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Vanna most popular?
The single biggest year for Vanna was 1986, when 122 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Vanna is about 29 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Vanna a female name?
Yes, 97.1% of people registered as Vanna 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.