Van
Van was given to 236 boys in 2025, #972 among boys’ names; 31,194 Americans have been recorded with it since 1880 (Social Security Administration, published May 2026).
An estimated 19,600 Americans named Van and born in the U.S. are alive in 2026 (63% of everyone recorded); the median is 51 years old and half are between 18 and 68.
Girls and boys together; gaps are years SSA did not record (fewer than 5 births).
Births of Van by year: SSA national baby-name file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
What does Van mean?
Wiktionary, English section
Van is “a diminutive of the male given names Vance, Ivan, and Evan.”
Also “a diminutive of the female given name Vanessa.”
/væn/
Meaning: Wiktionary, English section, as of Sep 25, 2026 (CC BY‑SA 4.0).
How popular is Van?
#972 among boys’ names, 2025
Van fell from #827 in 2015 to #972 in 2025 among boys’ names; its share of boys born held at 0.14 per 1,000.
591 babies in 1953, the peak
Van peaked in 1953, when 591 babies were given it (572 boys, #294 among boys’ names). The 244 births of 2025 (girls and boys) are 41% of that peak.
Births by sex.
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 236 | #972 | 0.14 |
| 2024 | 257 | #913 | 0.15 |
| 2023 | 255 | #910 | 0.15 |
| 2022 | 242 | #944 | 0.14 |
| 2021 | 265 | #876 | 0.15 |
| 2020 | 260 | #868 | 0.15 |
| 2019 | 257 | #866 | 0.14 |
| 2018 | 267 | #836 | 0.15 |
| 2017 | 236 | #908 | 0.13 |
| 2016 | 236 | #917 | 0.12 |
Every recorded year (146)
| Year | Births | Rank | Per 1,000 boys |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 273 | #827 | 0.14 |
| 2014 | 300 | #778 | 0.16 |
| 2013 | 255 | #840 | 0.13 |
| 2012 | 249 | #854 | 0.13 |
| 2011 | 283 | #790 | 0.15 |
| 2010 | 300 | #754 | 0.16 |
| 2009 | 295 | #774 | 0.15 |
| 2008 | 274 | #803 | 0.13 |
| 2007 | 263 | #814 | 0.13 |
| 2006 | 214 | #908 | 0.10 |
| 2005 | 174 | #993 | 0.09 |
| 2004 | 153 | #1,058 | 0.08 |
| 2003 | 143 | #1,088 | 0.07 |
| 2002 | 110 | #1,239 | 0.06 |
| 2001 | 97 | #1,340 | 0.05 |
| 2000 | 84 | #1,474 | 0.04 |
| 1999 | 95 | #1,289 | 0.05 |
| 1998 | 102 | #1,211 | 0.05 |
| 1997 | 81 | #1,374 | 0.04 |
| 1996 | 96 | #1,192 | 0.05 |
| 1995 | 78 | #1,331 | 0.04 |
| 1994 | 104 | #1,108 | 0.05 |
| 1993 | 102 | #1,111 | 0.05 |
| 1992 | 123 | #975 | 0.06 |
| 1991 | 112 | #1,018 | 0.06 |
| 1990 | 138 | #873 | 0.07 |
| 1989 | 138 | #856 | 0.07 |
| 1988 | 130 | #834 | 0.07 |
| 1987 | 144 | #769 | 0.08 |
| 1986 | 150 | #743 | 0.08 |
| 1985 | 143 | #745 | 0.08 |
| 1984 | 124 | #779 | 0.07 |
| 1983 | 160 | #677 | 0.09 |
| 1982 | 131 | #773 | 0.07 |
| 1981 | 142 | #727 | 0.08 |
| 1980 | 152 | #706 | 0.09 |
| 1979 | 161 | #674 | 0.09 |
| 1978 | 148 | #690 | 0.09 |
| 1977 | 157 | #677 | 0.10 |
| 1976 | 146 | #688 | 0.09 |
| 1975 | 152 | #671 | 0.10 |
| 1974 | 163 | #630 | 0.10 |
| 1973 | 175 | #598 | 0.11 |
| 1972 | 185 | #586 | 0.11 |
| 1971 | 213 | #554 | 0.12 |
| 1970 | 241 | #521 | 0.13 |
| 1969 | 248 | #488 | 0.14 |
| 1968 | 278 | #461 | 0.16 |
| 1967 | 322 | #425 | 0.18 |
| 1966 | 349 | #407 | 0.20 |
| 1965 | 408 | #386 | 0.22 |
| 1964 | 392 | #403 | 0.20 |
| 1963 | 448 | #377 | 0.22 |
| 1962 | 480 | #364 | 0.23 |
| 1961 | 529 | #342 | 0.25 |
| 1960 | 479 | #357 | 0.22 |
| 1959 | 505 | #346 | 0.24 |
| 1958 | 449 | #365 | 0.21 |
| 1957 | 459 | #355 | 0.21 |
| 1956 | 471 | #343 | 0.22 |
| 1955 | 547 | #313 | 0.27 |
| 1954 | 573 | #298 | 0.28 |
| 1953 | 572 | #294 | 0.29 |
| 1952 | 535 | #310 | 0.28 |
| 1951 | 497 | #313 | 0.26 |
| 1950 | 482 | #311 | 0.27 |
| 1949 | 510 | #300 | 0.29 |
| 1948 | 494 | #307 | 0.28 |
| 1947 | 569 | #289 | 0.31 |
| 1946 | 567 | #265 | 0.35 |
| 1945 | 466 | #279 | 0.35 |
| 1944 | 293 | #350 | 0.21 |
| 1943 | 255 | #383 | 0.18 |
| 1942 | 214 | #421 | 0.15 |
| 1941 | 220 | #388 | 0.18 |
| 1940 | 176 | #438 | 0.15 |
| 1939 | 182 | #422 | 0.16 |
| 1938 | 218 | #381 | 0.20 |
| 1937 | 194 | #404 | 0.18 |
| 1936 | 172 | #428 | 0.17 |
| 1935 | 182 | #406 | 0.17 |
| 1934 | 184 | #414 | 0.18 |
| 1933 | 216 | #368 | 0.22 |
| 1932 | 193 | #406 | 0.18 |
| 1931 | 187 | #413 | 0.18 |
| 1930 | 219 | #387 | 0.20 |
| 1929 | 190 | #429 | 0.18 |
| 1928 | 223 | #402 | 0.20 |
| 1927 | 209 | #418 | 0.19 |
| 1926 | 220 | #403 | 0.20 |
| 1925 | 227 | #397 | 0.20 |
| 1924 | 234 | #398 | 0.21 |
| 1923 | 192 | #439 | 0.18 |
| 1922 | 207 | #416 | 0.19 |
| 1921 | 244 | #389 | 0.22 |
| 1920 | 217 | #400 | 0.20 |
| 1919 | 180 | #442 | 0.18 |
| 1918 | 191 | #421 | 0.19 |
| 1917 | 162 | #445 | 0.18 |
| 1916 | 185 | #409 | 0.21 |
| 1915 | 173 | #409 | 0.20 |
| 1914 | 134 | #410 | 0.20 |
| 1913 | 82 | #482 | 0.16 |
| 1912 | 85 | #426 | 0.20 |
| 1911 | 53 | #394 | 0.23 |
| 1910 | 45 | #394 | 0.23 |
| 1909 | 45 | #353 | 0.27 |
| 1908 | 36 | #395 | 0.23 |
| 1907 | 29 | #438 | 0.20 |
| 1906 | 25 | #455 | 0.19 |
| 1905 | 34 | #359 | 0.26 |
| 1904 | 31 | #367 | 0.24 |
| 1903 | 38 | #309 | 0.32 |
| 1902 | 33 | #347 | 0.27 |
| 1901 | 34 | #309 | 0.32 |
| 1900 | 57 | #273 | 0.38 |
| 1899 | 32 | #314 | 0.30 |
| 1898 | 38 | #315 | 0.31 |
| 1897 | 38 | #298 | 0.34 |
| 1896 | 37 | #311 | 0.31 |
| 1895 | 34 | #315 | 0.29 |
| 1894 | 32 | #318 | 0.28 |
| 1893 | 42 | #272 | 0.37 |
| 1892 | 35 | #317 | 0.29 |
| 1891 | 48 | #234 | 0.47 |
| 1890 | 27 | #343 | 0.24 |
| 1889 | 34 | #293 | 0.31 |
| 1888 | 31 | #329 | 0.26 |
| 1887 | 32 | #298 | 0.32 |
| 1886 | 41 | #266 | 0.37 |
| 1885 | 38 | #273 | 0.35 |
| 1884 | 38 | #282 | 0.33 |
| 1883 | 31 | #297 | 0.30 |
| 1882 | 46 | #256 | 0.40 |
| 1881 | 32 | #285 | 0.32 |
| 1880 | 33 | #290 | 0.30 |
Ranks and shares: boys’ names in each year’s SSA file; share of all boys SSA recorded that year.
Is Van a boy’s or a girl’s name?
Of the 31,194 Americans recorded as Van, 6% are girls and 94% boys. In 2025 it went to 8 girls and 236 boys.
Years with fewer than 20 babies given the name are left blank.
Girls and boys named Van: the SSA national file counts each sex separately.
How many people are named Van, and how old are they?
19,600 alive in 2026, estimated
That is 63% of the 31,194 Americans ever recorded as Van. The median Van alive today is 51 years old; half are between 18 and 68.
The 2020 Census counted 35,602 people named Van (11,481 women and girls, 24,121 men and boys). SSA’s births carried forward to Census day, April 1, 2020, predict 19,927 born in the U.S. The Census count is 1.8 times that prediction. Possible reasons: the Census counts people born abroad, whom SSA’s files leave out, and it records the name people give, which SSA may have recorded under another spelling or as part of a compound name.
Alive today, by age
Alive today, by generation
| Generation | Born | Alive |
|---|---|---|
| Silent Generation | 1928-1945 | 920 |
| Baby Boomers | 1946-1964 | 6,510 |
| Generation X | 1965-1980 | 3,240 |
| Millennials | 1981-1996 | 2,410 |
| Generation Z | 1997-2012 | 3,070 |
| Generation Alpha | 2013-2025 | 3,490 |
An estimate, not a count. SSA’s files count people born in the United States who received a Social Security number, so anyone born abroad is not in them; before 1937 most people got a number as adults, and their survival is counted from that age.
Living estimate: SSA births carried forward with the survival rates in SSA’s cohort life tables (2024 Trustees Report) for each birth year and sex. How the estimate is made. Count: Census Bureau, first names in the 2020 Census (released April 14, 2026; names reported 100 or more times, with the Bureau’s disclosure-avoidance adjustment).
Where are babies named Van born?
The states with the most babies named Van are Texas, California and North Carolina, with 27% of its births recorded by state since 1910.
| State | Since 1910 | Rank, boys | vs. national |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 2,663 | #1,067 | 1.3× |
| California | 2,208 | #903 | 0.8× |
| North Carolina | 1,380 | #1,451 | 1.5× |
| Illinois | 1,169 | #927 | 0.8× |
| Georgia | 1,154 | #1,207 | 1.3× |
| Louisiana | 1,036 | #589 | 1.8× |
| Mississippi | 993 | not ranked | 2.2× |
| Florida | 984 | #1,051 | 1.1× |
| Tennessee | 908 | #837 | 1.3× |
| New York | 900 | #2,022 | 0.4× |
Where Van is more common than its national share predicts
Relative to its national share, Van is most over-represented in Mississippi: since 1910 it was given 2.2 times as often there as its national share each year would predict.
States: SSA state file, 1910-2025, published May 8, 2026; births count girls and boys together, and the rank is among boys’ names in the state in 2025. The file leaves out any state and year with fewer than 5 babies of the name, so small states are undercounted; each ratio compares the state’s births of Van with the births its national share predicts year by year, for states with at least 100 births of the name.
Names spelled alike
Of these 6 names spelled alike, given to 33,710 babies since 1880, Van is the most given (93% of them). In 2025 it was given to 244 of their 281 babies (87%), again the most given.
Spelled alike: names in the SSA national file with the same pattern of letters and sounds and at most two letters apart, and Wiktionary’s listed forms; births since 1880 and in 2025, and each name’s peak year, from the SSA national file, published May 8, 2026. Some are separate names, not spellings of one.
Names that rose and fell in the same decades as Van
Names whose births rose and fell across the same decades, measured on each decade’s share of births.
Similar histories: each decade’s share of births, from the SSA national file, 1880-2025, published May 8, 2026. SSA’s notes on the data.
More about Van and names like it
- Compare Van and VannBirths, ranks, peak and the living estimate side by side.
- The most given names of the 1950sVan peaked in 1953.
- Texas’s most given namesThe state where SSA recorded the most babies named Van since 1910.
- The top names of 1953The year the most babies were named Van.
- The names of the Baby BoomersMost people named Van alive today were born 1946-1964.
- Names starting with VMost given first.