Boys' name · peaked in 1891
Van name popularity since 1925
27,593 babies born in the US from 1925 to 2025 were named Van (5.9% girls, 94.1% boys). Half of them were born in 1962 or earlier, so the typical Van is about 64 years old in 2026. Van peaked in 1891 as the #234 name for boys, and it ranked #972 in 2025.
Key facts
- US babies since 1925
- 27,593
- Named Van, 1925–2025
- Peak year
- 1891
- #234 for boys that year
- In 2025
- #972
- for boys in 2025 (236 babies)
- Girls / boys
- 94.1% boys
- 1,626 girls · 25,967 boys
- Most popular in
- Mississippi
- 3.05× its national share
Peak year is the year Van made up the largest share of US boys, in records going back to 1880. Typical age is based on births from 1925 on, not on who is living today.
Van births per year, 1925–2025
The biggest year on this chart was 1954. Measured as a share of all babies, Van peaked earlier, in 1891.
- Fastest rise: Between 1940 and 1945, Van became 2.3× more common, from 1 in 6,590 baby boys to 1 in 2,890.
- Steepest fall: Between 1965 and 1970, its share of baby boys fell by 41%, from 1 in 4,560 to 1 in 7,710.
Shaded on the chart. Both compare Van's share of all US boys five years apart, counting only years with at least 100 babies named Van.
Decade by decade
Babies named Van in each decade, and its rank among boys' names in the middle year of the decade (1935, 1945 … 2025).
| Decade | Girls | Boys | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1925–29 | 57 | 1,069 | – |
| 1930s | 89 | 1,947 | #406 |
| 1940s | 109 | 3,764 | #279 |
| 1950s | 190 | 5,090 | #313 |
| 1960s | 144 | 3,933 | #386 |
| 1970s | 111 | 1,741 | #671 |
| 1980s | 410 | 1,414 | #745 |
| 1990s | 178 | 1,031 | #1,336 |
| 2000s | 102 | 1,807 | #994 |
| 2010s | 178 | 2,656 | #827 |
| 2020–25 | 58 | 1,515 | #972 |
Ranks count every name given to at least 5 boys that year, so they can go past 1,000.
Generation fingerprint
35.8% of babies named Van from 1925 to 2025 were born in the Baby Boom years (1946–1964). The full split by generation:
Where Van is most popular
The index compares Van's share of babies in each state with its share nationwide, 1925–2025 (1.50× = 50% more common). States with at least 300 babies named Van.
| State | Index | Babies |
|---|---|---|
| Mississippi | 3.05× | 804 |
| Louisiana | 2.41× | 941 |
| Arkansas | 2.40× | 536 |
| Utah | 2.24× | 415 |
| North Carolina | 1.98× | 1,222 |
Other spellings
Spellings that sound like Van and were given to at least 1,000 boys from 1925 to 2025, with the year each one was most popular.
| Spelling | Boys | Peak year |
|---|---|---|
| Van (this page) | 25,967 | 1891 |
| Vann | 1,964 | 1880 |
Names with a similar story
Of the other 1999 names on this site, these six had the share of babies closest in shape to Van's from 1925 to 2025, however common each one got. Each line is scaled to its own high; the dashed line is Van.
Names from the same era
Other common names that peaked within two years of Van (1891).
Source: U.S. Social Security Administration national and state baby-name data, which covers names given to at least 5 babies of one sex in a year. About the data