Vance
Vance was the 1080th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 200 babies. Its best year was 1969, when it ranked 328th with 555 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 321 places. More babies were named Vance in the 1960s than in any other decade.
Meaning "marsh, fen" · Old English, English
Say it VANS /væns/
- Rank in 2025
- #1,080 boys, down 106 places since 2020
- Babies in 2025
- 200boys
- Girls and boys
- Almost always a boy’s name2021–2025
- Peak year
- 1969555 babies
- Total since 1880
- 27,150babies recorded
What does the name Vance mean?
Vance is an English surname for someone who lived by a fen or marsh, from a southern English dialect form of Old English fenn, "marsh, bog", with the F voiced to V. Wiktionary describes it as a mainly American given name. Wikipedia notes it was in the top 1,000 for American boys through the 20th and early 21st centuries; it was most common in the 1950s and 1960s.
fenn (Old English, “marsh, fen”)
How sure is this? Well established.
Related names: Van, Fenn.
See also: English names, names that mean meadow, hill or valley.
Sources for this meaning
- Wiktionary, entry 'Vance', Wiktionary (Wikimedia Foundation)
- Wikipedia, 'Vance (given name)', Wikipedia (Wikimedia Foundation)
Vance popularity since 1880
A few girls are given the name too: 138 since 1893.
| Year | Rank (boys) | Babies (boys) |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #1,080 | 200 |
| 2020 | #974 | 221 |
| 2010 | #772 | 289 |
| 2000 | #1,037 | 141 |
| 1990 | #646 | 246 |
| 1980 | #707 | 152 |
| 1970 | #398 | 407 |
| 1960 | #373 | 450 |
| 1950 | #417 | 261 |
| 1940 | #451 | 165 |
| 1930 | #478 | 156 |
| 1920 | #412 | 207 |
| 1910 | #523 | 30 |
| 1900 | #678 | 15 |
| 1890 | #563 | 13 |
| 1880 | #803 | 7 |
How popular is Vance, counting every spelling?
Vance has no other common spelling that sounds the same. Counting every name's spellings together, it ranks #1,028 for boys in 2025, against #1,080 on the official list.
How many kids will share the name Vance?
200 of the 3,606,400 babies born in the US in 2025 were named Vance (0.06 per 1,000 births). For a boy named Vance born in 2025, the chance that another child with the same name is in a class of 20 children the same age is under 1 in 50. If every grade liked the name as much as the 2025 babies do, only about one elementary school in 42 (of 430 pupils) would have a child named Vance.
Shares of all registered births (NCHS); classes assumed to be children born the same year. How we estimate this.
How old are people named Vance?
About 18,700 people born in the US named Vance are alive today, with a median age of 42; half are between 19 and 63. That makes Vance mostly worn by adults in their thirties to fifties. The wide spread shows a name popular in two different eras.
Babies given the name each year (SSA) times the share of that birth year still alive (SSA life tables). Counts people born in the US only. Method.
Vance by state
How common Vance was among boys born in each state in 2021–2025. It is notably more common than nationally in Utah (2.5×), Louisiana (2.2×), Indiana (2.1×), Wisconsin (1.8×), Minnesota (1.7×). In 25 states fewer than five boys a year got the name, too few for SSA to publish, so those states show as zero.
Names with a similar history
These names rose and fell in step with Vance: their share of US boys followed the most similar curve since 1880. If you like Vance, they share its era and feel.
Middle names for Vance · Sibling names for Vance
Questions about the name Vance
What does Vance mean?
Vance means “"marsh, fen"” (Old English, English origin). Certainty: well established.
How popular is the name Vance?
Vance was the 1080th most popular name for boys in 2025, given to 200 babies. Its best year was 1969, when it ranked 328th with 555 babies. Over the last ten years it has moved down 321 places. More babies were named Vance in the 1960s than in any other decade.
Is Vance a boy or girl name?
In 2021–2025, almost always a boy’s name given the name Vance in the US.
Where is Vance most popular?
In 2021–2025, Vance was most common in Utah (0.33 per 1,000 boys), followed by Louisiana and Indiana.