Van
Van is ranked 907th among boys in 2024 (257 births). Its best rank was 234th, in 1891.
- Rank in 2024
- #907up 3 from 2023
- Births in 2024
- 2570.01% of boys
- Peak year
- 1953572 births
- Best rank
- #234in 1891
- Since 1880
- 30,949people given the name
The story in the numbers
29,195 boys have been named Van in the United States since 1880, according to Social Security records. The busiest single year was 1953, with 572 births.
It is holding steady: its share of births has moved by less than half in either direction over ten years (rank 778 → 907).
Half of everyone given the name was born by 1958, and the 1950s alone account for 17%. It has spent 132 of 145 years in the top 1,000.
It is overwhelmingly a boy’s name: 1,754 girls have also been given it, 5.7% of the total.
Rank among boys, year by year
By decade
| Decade | boys named Van | |
|---|---|---|
| 1880s | 356 | |
| 1890s | 363 | |
| 1900s | 362 | |
| 1910s | 1,290 | |
| 1920s | 2,163 | |
| 1930s | 1,947 | |
| 1940s | 3,764 | |
| 1950s | 5,089 | |
| 1960s | 3,934 | |
| 1970s | 1,741 | |
| 1980s | 1,414 | |
| 1990s | 1,031 | |
| 2000s | 1,807 | |
| 2010s | 2,656 | |
| 2020s | 1,278 |
In 1953, its biggest year
Van was the 294th most given boy’s name that year. The top five boys’ names of 1953 were Robert, James, Michael, John and David. See all of 1953.
Names that rose and fell with Van
Same sex, most similar popularity curve over 145 years, in five-year steps — the shape of the line, not the size.
- Martinpeak 1963
- Clarkpeak 1961
- Thomaspeak 1952
- Johnpeak 1947
- Perrypeak 1959
- Marshallpeak 1947
- Jamespeak 1947
- Williampeak 1947
Other spellings in the data
What this page does not tell you. The Social Security data records how many babies were given a name, not what the name means or where it comes from — so neither do we. Counts cover people with a Social Security number; names given to fewer than five babies in a year are withheld. More on the data.