Submitted names are contributed by users of this website. The accuracy of these name definitions cannot be guaranteed.
Van GilsDutch Means "from Gilze" in Dutch, a village in North Brabant, Netherlands. Possibly derived from a cognate of Old Norse gil "gap, ravine, gully".
Van GinkelDutch Means "from Ginkel" in Dutch, the name of a settlement in Gelderland, Netherlands, possibly derived from Old Dutch gengi "accessible, passable" and lo "light forest, forest clearing".
Van GoolDutch Means "from Goirle" in Dutch, the name of a town in North Brabant, Netherlands, derived from Middle Dutch goor "filth, dirty; swampy forest floor" and lo "forest clearing, light forest".
Van GriekenDutch Means "of Greeks", derived from Dutch Griek "Greek (person)".
Van HaitsmaDutch Habitational name for someone from Haitsma, a place in Friesland.
Van HalenDutch Habitational name for a person from the villages Hoog en Laaghalen in the Dutch province of Drenthe or Halen near Hasselt in Belgian Limburg. Famous bearers include Dutch-born American musicians Eddie Van Halen (1955-2020) and his brother Alex Van Halen (1953-) of the rock band Van Halen... [more]
Van HanegemDutch, Flemish Means "from Hanegem", possibly from a place name in Flanders, Belgium; one theory suggests that it may be associated with Danegem, a town near Beernem, West Flanders. Other theories connect it to Hunnegem, the name of an old settlement in Geraardsbergen, East Flanders, or a place called Huinegem in Asse, Flemish Brabant... [more]
Van HarenDutch Means "from Haren" in Dutch, the name of several settlements derived from haar "sandy ridge".
Van HeldenDutch Means "from Helden" in Dutch, the name of a village in Limburg, Netherlands, derived from Old Dutch helde "slope, incline".
Van HelmondDutch Means "from Helmond" in Dutch, a municipality in Southern Netherlands, of unknown etymology. It could derived from the Dutch dialectal hel "low-lying" and Old Dutch munte "hill, place of refuge during flooding".
Van HelmontBelgian, Dutch Possibly a variant of Van Helmond. Jan Baptist van Helmont (1580-1644) was a Belgian chemist, physiologist, and physician, considered as the founder of pneumatic chemistry.
Van HelsingDutch (Rare) Habitational name that can derive from any of several locations. It is most famously used by the fictional character Abraham Van Helsing in Bram Stoker’s novel Dracula, in which case it may be invented.
Van HertrooijDutch Means "from Hertrooij", most likely a place name in the Netherlands. It could possibly derive from Middle Dutch hert meaning "deer" and rood meaning "red".
Van HeukelomDutch, Belgian Denoted someone from any of several places Heukelom or similar, derived from Old Dutch *hukila "hill, elevated place" and hem "home, settlement".
Van HeusenDutch Heusen is derived from the town Husum in Holland. The town was on the Zuyder Zee, Holstein, Holland.
Van HeutszDutch (Archaic) A bearer of this name is J.B. van Heutsz, also known as the Pacificator of Aceh, former governor general of the Dutch East Indies.
Van HonstéFlemish Means "from Honsté", Honsté possibly being the name of a village in Belgium.
Van HooijdonkDutch Means "from Hooidonk", a small village in the province of Noord-Brabant in the Netherlands. It is derived from Dutch hoog meaning "high, elevated" and donk meaning "(sandy) hill". Dutch former soccer player Pierre van Hooijdonk (1969-) bears this name.
Van IerselDutch Habitational name from the town of Eersel in North Brabant, Netherlands, derived from the Old Dutch personal name *Ari combined with lo "forest clearing, light forest".
Van IersselDutch Variant of Van Iersel. A famous bearer is the former Dutch soccer player Kees van Ierssel (1945-).
Van LaarhovenDutch Means "from Laarhoven", the name of towns in the Netherlands. The place names derive from Dutch laar meaning "open spot in the forest" and hoven meaning "farmstead".
van MaarschalkerweerdDutch Habitational name denoting someone from Maarschalkerweerd, a place near Utrecht in the Netherlands. Derived from Dutch maarschalk "marshal" and weerd "land next to water, riverine island".
Van MaastrichtDutch Means "from Maastricht", a city in the province of Limburg in the Netherlands, itself derived from the name of the Maas (Meuse) river combined with Dutch tricht meaning "ford, passage, crossing, ferry".
Van MaurikDutch Means "from Maurik" in Dutch, which is a town in the east of the Netherlands.
van MelleDutch, Flemish Means "from Melle". Habitational name for someone hailing from Melle in East Flanders, Belgium.
Van MerrienboerDutch Occupational name for a mare farmer, derived from Middle Dutch merrie meaning "mare (female horse)" and boer meaning "peasant, farmer".
Van MierloDutch Means "from Mierlo", a village in the Netherlands. Likely derived from a compound of Old Dutch *mier "swamp" and lo "light forest".
Van MolDutch, Flemish Derived from Middle Dutch mol, meaning "mole." This surname can either derive from the nickname mol, meaning "mole", perhaps given to someone with dark hair or blindness, or from a house with the sign of a mole.
Van MusschenbroekDutch Means "from Musschenbroek", a hamlet in Limburg, derived from plural form of Dutch mus "sparrow" and broek "marsh, wetland". Pieter van Musschenbroek (1692–1761) was a Dutch scientist credited with the invention of the first capacitor.
VannavongLao From Lao ວັນນະ (vanna) meaning "color, caste" and ວົງ (vong) meaning "lineage, family".
VanneboNorwegian Taken from the farm Vanebu, spelled Vannebo in pre-1950 records. From the Norwegian words vann, meaning water, and bo, meaning to live or reside.
van NiekerkAfrikaans Topographic name for any of the various locations named Nieuwerkerk in The Netherlands or Nieuwerkerken in Belgium. The name itself means "of the new church" from Dutch van meaning "of" combined with nieuw meaning "new" and kerk meaning "church".
Van NistelrooijDutch Means "from Nistelrode", a small village in the province of Noord-Brabant in the Netherlands. It is derived from Middle Dutch nest meaning "nest, burrow, resting place" and lo meaning "light forest", combined with rode meaning "land cleared of trees"... [more]
Van OmmenDutch Means "from Ommen" in Dutch, a city and municipality in northeastern Netherland, historically attested as de Vmme or Ummen, of unknown etymology. It could derived from a prehistoric hydronym.
Van OmmerenDutch Means "from Ommeren", a small village in the province of Gelderland in the Netherlands.
Van OoijenDutch Means "from Ooijen" in Dutch, the name of a hamlet in Limburg, Netherlands, as well as several other settlements derived from Middle Dutch ooy "floodplain, wetland, meadow in the bend of a river".
Van OortDutch Means "from the edge (of town)", derived from Middle Dutch ort "edge, corner, outermost point of a region". Sometimes altered to or from the surname Van Noort.
Van OssDutch Means "from Oss", a town in the southern Netherlands.
Van OtterlooDutch Means "from Otterlo", a village and former municipality in Gelderland, possibly derived from Dutch otter "otter" and lo "pool".
Van PeltDutch, Flemish Habitational name for someone from Pelt (formerly Pedele), Overpelt, or Neerpelt, possibly derived from a word meaning "marshy place".
Van PersieDutch Means "from Persia", most likely derived from the name of a house that traded in Persian goods. Alternatively, it might derive from Perche, a former province in France.
Van ReenenDutch, South African Means "from Rhenen", the name of a city in Utrecht, Netherlands. Possibly derived from Proto-Germanic *hraini "clean, pure", or from Rijn "the Rhine (river)" combined with Old Dutch hem "home, settlement".
Van ReesDutch Means "from Rees", a German town on the bank of the Rhine that probably derives its name from Kleverlandish rys "willow grove".
Van RensselaerDutch From Soleur, one of the areas or regions of Switzerland.
Van RielDutch Means "from Riel" in Dutch, a toponym of uncertain origin.
Van RijsbergenDutch Means "from Rijsbergen", a small town in the province of Noord-Brabant in the Netherlands. It is derived from Middle Dutch rise meaning "twig, branch, brushwood" and berg meaning "mountain, hill".
Van RooijenDutch Derived from any of several places named using the suffix rooien, denoting an area cleared of trees.
Van RooyenAfrikaans van Rooyen related to Van Rooijen, is an Afrikaans and Dutch toponymic surname. May be rooted from the Rhine area of the Netherlands, possibly having meant "from Rhine" originally... [more]
Van RuisdaelDutch Means "from Ruisdael", the name of a lost castle, also called Ruisschendaal, near the village of Blaricum in North Holland, the Netherlands. It means "noisy valley" in Dutch. This name was borne by members of the Van Ruisdael family of artists during the Dutch Golden Age, notably the landscape painter Jacob van Ruisdael (c... [more]
Van SchaikDutch Derived from any of several places called Schaik, Schaijk, or Schadijk, derived from the original form Schadewijk possibly meaning "shaded place" or "inhospitable place" from Middle Dutch scade meaning either "shadow, shade" or "damage" combined with wijk "village, settlement".
Van SchalkwijkDutch Means "from Schalkwijk", the name of either a small village in the province of Utrecht, or a large neighbourhood in the city of Haarlem in North Holland, the Netherlands. The place names are derived from Old Dutch scalc meaning "servant" and wic meaning "village, town, farmstead, settlement".
Van SchieDutch Means "from Schie" in Dutch, the name of a canalised river that lends its name to several nearby toponyms. Possibly related to Middle Dutch scheiden "to separate, to part".
Van SchijndelDutch Means "from Schijndel" in Dutch, the name of a village in North Brabant, Netherlands, derived from lo "forest clearing, light forest" and an uncertain first element.
VansickleDutch (Americanized) Americanized form of a hypothetical Dutch surname, probably derived from either the given name Sikkel (see Siegel) or from sikkel meaning "sickle, scythe".
Van 't BoveneindDutch Means "from Boveneind", the name of various places in the Netherlands, itself meaning "from the top end" in Dutch. It is derived from boven meaning "upper, upstream" and eind meaning "edge, end".
Van TienhovenDutch Means "from Tienhoven", the name of several villages in the Netherlands. Their names mean "ten parcels of land" in Dutch. A famous bearer was the Dutch politician Gijsbert van Tienhoven (1841-1914), a Prime Minister of the Netherlands.
Van TilburgDutch Means "from Tilburg" in Dutch, the name of a city in North Brabant, Netherlands, derived from Old Dutch tilli "newly cultivated land" and burg "fortress, fortified settlement, citadel".
Van TolDutch Means "of (the) toll" or "from Tol" in Dutch, derived from tol "toll (fee); toll booth, toll house", a habitational name for someone who lived near or in a toll house or a place named for one, or a metonymic occupational name for a toll collector... [more]
Van 't SchipDutch Means "from the ship", derived from Middle Dutch schip literally meaning "ship". It is borne by the Dutch-Canadian former soccer player John van 't Schip (1963-).
Van VelsenDutch Means "from Velsen" in Dutch, a municipality in North Holland, possibly from Proto-Indo-European *pel "swamp, marsh" combined with the hydronymic suffix *isa.
Van VuchtDutch Means "from Vucht", a place name probably derived from Middle Dutch vucht "humid area, wetland".
Van WageningenDutch Means "from Wandeningen" in Dutch, denoting a person from the municipality of Gelderland, Netherlands, from Dutch Wagano with collective suffix -ung-
Van WanrooijDutch Means "from Wanroij" in Dutch, the name of a town in North Brabant, Netherlands, probably derived from Middle Dutch wan "bad, insufficient, lacking; un-" and rode "land cleared of trees".
Van WertDutch (Americanized, Archaic), Flemish Habitational name for someone from places in Belgium and the Netherlands called Weert, (De) Weerd, Weerde, or Waarde, all derived from Middle Dutch wert "holm, area surrounded by rivers".
Van WezelDutch Means "from Wezel", the name of several locations in the Netherlands.
Van WijngaardenDutch Means "from Wijngaarden", a village in South Holland, Netherlands, meaning "vineyards" in Dutch. It’s uncertain if there was ever actually a vineyard in or near the village.
Van WormerDutch (Rare) Means "from Wormer", a town in North Holland. Derived from Old Dutch wer "fishing weir" and mere "lake", or possibly from Proto-Germanic *werm "water".
Van ZonDutch Variant of van Son. In some cases, it could denote someone who lived or worked in a building named De Zon "the sun", probably named for a sign depicting the sun.
VaradkarIndian, Hindi, Marathi Derived from the name of the village of Varad in the Sindhudurg district in Maharashtra, India. A famous bearer is the Irish prime minister Leo Varadkar (1979-).
VargeidNorwegian Invented by Sverre Kristian (then) Olsen and his brother Willy Anfinn (also then) Olsen. They thought Olsen was boring, and invented the new Vargeid.
VarnellEnglish Variant of Farnell. This form originated in southwestern England, where the change from F to V arose from the voicing of F that was characteristic of this area in Middle English.
VarnerGerman Habitational name for someone from Farn near Oberkirch, or Fahrnau near Schopfheim.
VarneyEnglish From the French place name Vernay meaning "alder grove, alder wood", derived from Gaulish vern "alder (tree)" and the Latin locative suffix -etum "place of; plantation, grove" (-aie in modern French).
VaronFrench From the old high german name Waro short form of given names with the element war "aware,cautious".
VasaOld Swedish, Swedish (Archaic) Swedish noble and former royal family. Possibly from vase meaning "bundle" or "withy". The name is believed to be a reference to the family's coat of arms. The most notable member of the family was Gustav Eriksson Vasa (1496-1560), later known as Gustav I of Sweden (in modern times known exclusively as Gustav Vasa)... [more]
VasilakosGreek Patronymic from the Greek given name Vasilios and the suffix άκος (-akos) which is particularly associated with the Mani Peninsula in southwestern Peloponnese.
VassEnglish Status name denoting a serf, Middle English, Old French vass(e), from Late Latin vassus, of Celtic origin. Compare Welsh gwas "boy", Gaelic foss "servant".
VasseurFrench From Old French vavasour meaning "subvassal", a historical term used to refer to a tenant of a baron or lord who also had tenants under him.
VatanabeJapanese (Russified) Alternate transcription of Watanabe more commonly used by ethnic Japanese living in parts of the former Soviet Union and Sakhalin Japanese residing on Sakhalin Island in Russia.
VatatzisGreek This surname is a diminutive form of the word βάτος, "bramble, briar", perhaps signifying a harsh character. Another possible origin is βατάκι, "ray fish".
VauxFrench French, English, and Scottish habitational name from any of various places in northern France called Vaux, from the Old French plural of val ‘valley’.
VaynerYiddish Weiner is a surname or, in fact, the spelling of two different surnames originating in German and the closely related Yiddish language. In German, the name is pronounced vaɪnɐ(ʁ),of which the rare English pronunciation vaɪnər is a close approximation... [more]
VəzirovAzerbaijani Means "son of the vizier", from the Arabic title وَزِير (wazīr) denoting a minister or high-ranking official in an Islamic government.
VeaSpanish, Galician Habitational name, principally from Vea in Soria province, but in some cases from any of four places with the same name in Pontevedra province, Galicia.
VeaNorwegian Habitational name from any of four farmsteads so named, from the plural of Old Norse viðr meaning "wood", "tree".
VecaItalian Southern Italian: possibly from vece ‘change’, ‘mutation’, ‘alternation’ (from Latin vix, vicis, plural vices), or from a pet form of a personal name formed with this element.
VecchioItalian Means "old, aged" in Italian, originally used as a nickname for an older or oldest son or for someone who was prematurely grey or wrinkled.