Van - Name Meaning and Origin

The boy's and girl's name Van \van\ is pronounced van. It is of Danish origin, and its meaning is "of". The Dutch equivalent of "de" in French names. When some early immigrants to America dropped this prefix from their surnames, they converted it to a given name. Van is also used as a short form of Vanessa.

Baby names that sound like Van are Fan and Vana. Other similar baby names are Nan, Jan, San and Val.

Van is a popular female first name and a very popular surname (source: 1990 U.S. Census). Displayed below is the baby name popularity trend for the girl's name Van. Click here to compare Van with related baby names.