boys' name ★ peaked 1969

Vance

Meaning marsh, bog Gender Boy · 1% girls Rank 2025 #1,080 Trend → Stable

From a Southern English dialectal form of Old English fenn (“marsh, bog”).

Rank 2025
#1,080
among boys · ↓83 vs 2024
Babies in 2025
200
named Vance · -12% vs 2024
How common
1 in 8,540
boys born in 2025
Peak year
1969
555 babies
All-time total
27,150
#715 all-time among boys
First recorded
1880
in Social Security records

Vance popularity over time

27,150 babies have been named Vance since 1880, according to official Social Security records. Switch measure to see births per year or the yearly rank.

Measure
Births per 1,000 babies of that sex, comparable across eras
0.10.20.30.418801900192019401960198020002020BoysGirls
BoysGirls

By decade. Change compares yearly averages, so the current partial decade is on equal footing. Best rank is the name's best yearly rank within the decade.

Decade Girls Boys Total Per year Change Best rank
1880s – 91 91 9 – #544
1890s 5 177 182 18 +100% #382
1900s – 229 229 23 +26% #385
1910s 50 1,233 1,283 128 +460% #406
1920s 40 1,735 1,775 178 +38% #412
1930s 14 1,501 1,515 152 -15% #434
1940s 7 2,075 2,082 208 +37% #410
1950s – 3,420 3,420 342 +64% #352
1960s 16 4,065 4,081 408 +19% #328
1970s – 2,253 2,253 225 -45% #398
1980s 6 1,875 1,881 188 -17% #602
1990s – 1,929 1,929 193 +3% #646
2000s – 2,443 2,443 244 +27% #723
2010s – 2,631 2,631 263 +8% #756
2020s (to 2025) – 1,355 1,355 226 -14% #935

Where Vance is heading

A five-year projection from the recent trend in births per 1,000 boys (damped so it flattens over time), converted to babies at today's birth totals. The implied rank places that projection in the 2025 field. A projection, not a promise: real trends bend.

Year Projected babies Per 1,000 boys Implied rank
2026 199 0.12 outside top 500
2027 199 0.12 outside top 500
2028 199 0.12 outside top 500
2029 198 0.12 outside top 500
2030 198 0.12 outside top 500

Where Vance is most popular

Boys named Vance per 1,000 boys born in each state, 2021–2025. National average: 0.131 per 1,000. Strongest in Utah, Louisiana, and Indiana.

Vs national average
well below below near national above well above no data

All 50 states and DC, sorted by rate. Counts are boys named Vance born 2021–2025; the per-1,000 rate makes states of different sizes comparable, and the last column shows each state against the national average.

State Boys 2021–2025 Per 1,000 vs national
Utah 31 0.325 +147%
Louisiana 29 0.284 +116%
Indiana 44 0.274 +109%
Wisconsin 28 0.236 +80%
Minnesota 28 0.228 +74%
Nevada 13 0.228 +74%
North Carolina 57 0.223 +70%
Kansas 14 0.204 +55%
Ohio 51 0.192 +47%
Pennsylvania 47 0.177 +35%
Maryland 20 0.168 +28%
Michigan 34 0.166 +26%
Washington 25 0.153 +16%
Missouri 20 0.144 +10%
Arizona 23 0.141 +7%
Florida 60 0.127 ≈ national
Illinois 32 0.125 -5%
Colorado 15 0.116 -11%
California 106 0.116 -12%
Texas 82 0.093 -29%
Georgia 23 0.091 -31%
New Jersey 17 0.084 -36%
Virginia 16 0.084 -36%
New York 24 0.055 -58%
Tennessee 10 0.055 -58%
Massachusetts 7 0.051 -61%
Alaska – – –
Alabama – – –
Arkansas – – –
Connecticut – – –
District of Columbia – – –
Delaware – – –
Hawaii – – –
Iowa – – –
Idaho – – –
Kentucky – – –
Maine – – –
Mississippi – – –
Montana – – –
North Dakota – – –
Nebraska – – –
New Hampshire – – –
New Mexico – – –
Oklahoma – – –
Oregon – – –
Rhode Island – – –
South Carolina – – –
South Dakota – – –
Vermont – – –
West Virginia – – –
Wyoming – – –

State counts come from the Social Security Administration's state files, which omit any state-year with fewer than five babies of a name, so small states can undercount slightly.

The story of Vance

Vance is uncommon for boys in the United States, ranked #1,080 in 2025 with 200 babies given the name. It is currently holding steady compared with a decade ago.

Since 1880, 27,150 American babies have been named Vance. Its peak came in 1969, when 555 newborns received the name, the signature sound of the 1960s.

The chart above shows the full history: the popularity view (births per 1,000 babies) is the honest comparison across generations, since total US births have changed enormously since 1880. Switch to the rank view to see where Vance stood among all boys' names in any year, or use the compare tool to plot it against other names.

How old are people named Vance?

The median living Vance is about 43 years old; half are between 18 and 63. An estimated 19 thousand people named Vance are alive in the United States today.

median 43 020406080100

Estimated from births per year and Social Security period life tables; an approximation of the living age distribution, by age in years.

Vance year by year

Every year since 2001, and five-year steps back to 1880. Rank is within each sex.

Year Girls Girls rank Boys Boys rank
2025 – – 200 #1,080
2024 – – 226 #997
2023 – – 237 #955
2022 – – 229 #988
2021 – – 242 #935
2020 – – 221 #974
2019 – – 245 #894
2018 – – 220 #948
2017 – – 265 #836
2016 – – 248 #882
2015 – – 318 #759
2014 – – 246 #883
2013 – – 245 #869
2012 – – 255 #842
2011 – – 300 #756
2010 – – 289 #772
2009 – – 294 #776
2008 – – 290 #768
2007 – – 318 #723
2006 – – 298 #726
2005 – – 261 #762
2004 – – 231 #784
2003 – – 242 #744
2002 – – 198 #841
2001 – – 170 #920
2000 – – 141 #1,037
1995 – – 162 #852
1990 – – 246 #646
1985 – – 162 #692
1980 – – 152 #707
1975 – – 166 #628
1970 – – 407 #398
1965 – – 384 #402
1960 – – 450 #373
1955 – – 321 #410
1950 – – 261 #417
1945 – – 208 #417
1940 – – 165 #451
1935 – – 143 #475
1930 7 #4,015 156 #478
1925 5 #5,712 186 #441
1920 9 #3,573 207 #412
1915 9 #3,115 132 #487
1910 – – 30 #523
1905 – – 26 #429
1900 – – 15 #678
1895 – – 26 #382
1890 – – 13 #563
1885 – – 12 #576
1880 – – 7 #803

Famous people named Vance

The most globally famous bearers of the name, ranked by fame across Wikipedia editions (Pantheon project, MIT).

  1. 1 Vance Joy Vance Joy Australian singer-songwriter (born 1987) Contemporary
  2. 2 Vance D. Brand Vance D. Brand American naval officer, aviator, aeronautical engineer and astronaut (born 1931) Contemporary

Portraits from Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons).

Frequently asked questions

Quick answers about Vance, drawn from the same Social Security data as the charts above.

How old is the average Vance?

The median living Vance is about 43 years old. Half of all living Vances are between 18 and 63 years old.

How many people named Vance are alive today?

An estimated 19 thousand people named Vance are alive in the United States, based on 27,150 recorded births and Social Security life tables.

What does the name Vance mean?

From a Southern English dialectal form of Old English fenn (“marsh, bog”).

How popular is the name Vance in 2025?

Vance ranked #1,080 among boys' names in the United States in 2025, with 200 babies given the name, according to Social Security Administration data.

How many people are named Vance?

27,150 babies have been named Vance in the United States since 1880, based on Social Security card applications.

When was the name Vance most popular?

Vance peaked in 1969, when 555 newborns received the name.

Is Vance a boy or girl name?

Vance is overwhelmingly a boy's name: 99% of babies with the name.

Is the name Vance rising or falling?

Vance has been roughly stable over the past decade.

Will Vance become more popular?

Vance looks stable. If the recent trend holds, we project roughly 198 boys named Vance in 2030, ranking outside the top 500. Forecasts assume the current trend continues and become less certain further out.

Who are famous people named Vance?

Well-known people named Vance include Vance Joy (singer), Vance D. Brand (astronaut).

Names like Vance

Names that sound and feel close to Vance: shared sounds, similar era, similar popularity. Each links to its full history.

Compare Vance with similar names → More names starting with V →