first name
VAN
of 53,615 first names recorded in the 2020 Census
Of the 35,602 people named Van, 52.8% reported their origin as Asian or Pacific Islander, 33.9% as White and 9% as Black. 67.8% are male. These count how people described themselves on the 2020 Census, not where the name comes from.
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Van peaked in 1953, when 591 babies got the name.
At least 31,194 babies have been given the name since 1880. Years SSA withheld, because fewer than 5 were born, are skipped rather than drawn as zero. * 2025 is the newest year published and it undercounts: a card application is filed some time after a birth.
Van by decade
Among all names given to American babies, its best decade was the 1880s, when it ranked #615. The largest share of babies named Van, 31.7%, were born during the baby boom (1946–1964).
Rank counts both sexes together, among every name SSA recorded that decade; the number under it is births. The 2020s run only to 2025. Generation years follow Pew Research Center, which has not named a generation after 2012.
Where Van is most common
Compared with all babies born in each state since 1910, Van has been most common in Mississippi (3.3×), Arkansas (2.6×), and Louisiana (2.4×), and least common in Massachusetts (0.14×).
23,279 births recorded by state, 1910–2025. 2× means twice as common as nationally. States with fewer than 30 such births are left blank, and SSA withholds any year with fewer than 5 in a state, so small states read low.
Either side of Van
Spelled almost the same
6 first names in the 2020 Census spelled within a letter or two of Van, most common first.
Also a last name
As a last name, Van ranks #2,925 of 156,621, with 12,022 people. See Van as a last name
Compare
🔎 VAN 🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦🟦⬜⬜⬜ 1 in 8,484 Americans Rarer than 71.8% of us Peaked in 1953 with 591 babies Beat that 👇 https://howrareismy.name/first/van/