Van

Dutch

"of"

Van Origin and Meaning

The name Van is a boy's name of Dutch origin meaning "of".

Whether it's used as a short form or on its own, this jazzy midcentury name is poised for a comeback along with brothers Ray and Walt.

More often heard as a surname prefix (e.g. Vincent van Gogh, Dick Van Dyke), Van by itself has had some notable bearers, such as musician Van Cliburn (born Harvey Kevan) and actors Van Johnson (born Charles Van) and Van Heflin (born Emmett Evan). Because of its common connection to surnames, it makes for an interesting middle name option. Van reached as high as Number 265 in 1946.

Van Rank in US Top 1000

# 915 in the US

Van Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

# 448 on Nameberry

Van Popularity

• 915 US 2023
• 448 Nameberry 2024
• 846 Future 2028

20 Names Similar to Van

These 20 names were selected by our users that were looking for other names like Van.

• Vance
• Van
• Ford
• Art
• Brant
• Penn
• Cal
• Cort
• Jett
• Land
• Levon
• Roger
• Dale
• Ward
• Aldo
• Teo
• Cy
• Hollis
• Cotton
• Dex

Famous People Named Van

• Sie George Ivan (Van) Morrison Irish singer,songwriter
• (Charles) Van Dell Johnson American actor
• Emmett Evan "Van" Heflin American actor
• Harvey Lavan "Van" Cliburn American pianist
• Ryan Evan "Van" McCann English lead singer of Catfish and the Bottlemen
• Anthony Kapel "Van" Jones American political activist and commentator
• Evan Vanfossen "Van" Hansis American actor
• Van Harold Green American NFL football player
• Van Nelson American distance runner
• Van Tiffin American NFL football player
• Trig Paxson Van Palin son of politician Sarah Palin
• Edward "Eddie" Van Halen Dutch,American rock guitarist
• Vincent Van Gogh Dutch painter

Van in Pop Culture

• Van a main character in the anime "Escaflowne," pronounced Von/Vaughn
• Van Montgomery a main character on TV's "Reba"
• "National Lampoon's Van Wilder " 2002 film about the title character
• Van Hohenheim character in manga/anime, "Fullmetal Alchemist"
• Van a large motor vehicle
• Van Delorey character in Netflix's "American Vandal"