Browse Names

This is a list of names in which the gender is masculine; and the pattern is *van*.
gender
usage
pattern
Bevan m English
From a Welsh surname that was derived from ap Evan meaning "son of Evan". As a given name, it is particularly common in New Zealand and Australia.
Cavan m English
Either from the name of the Irish county, which is derived from Irish cabhán "hollow", or else from the Irish surname Cavan.
Devan m & f English (Modern)
Variant of Devin.
Devante m African American (Modern)
Combination of the phonetic elements da, von and tay. DeVanté Swing (1969-), stage name of Donald DeGrate Jr., was a singer with the group Jodeci. His name dramatically rose in popularity in the early 1990s when the group released their first successful songs, though it soon began to recede again.... [more]
Donovan m English
From an Irish surname, an Anglicized form of Ó Donndubháin, itself derived from the given name Donndubán. This name is borne by the Scottish folk musician Donovan Leitch (1946-), known simply as Donovan.
Elvan f & m Turkish
Means "colours" in Turkish.
Evan m Welsh, English
Anglicized form of Ifan, a Welsh form of John.
Evander 1 m Greek Mythology (Latinized), Roman Mythology
Variant of Evandrus, the Latin form of the Greek name Εὔανδρος (Euandros) meaning "good of man", derived from εὖ (eu) meaning "good" and ἀνήρ (aner) meaning "man" (genitive ἀνδρός). In Roman mythology Evander was an Arcadian hero of the Trojan War who founded the city of Pallantium near the spot where Rome was later built.
Evander 2 m Scottish
Anglicized form of Iomhar.
Evandro m Portuguese
Portuguese form of Evander 1.
Evangelista m & f Italian, Spanish, Portuguese
Means "evangelist, preacher" in Italian, Spanish and Portuguese, derived from Latin, ultimately from Greek εὐάγγελος (euangelos) meaning "bringing good news". It is often used in honour of the Four Evangelists (the authors of the gospels in the New Testament: Matthew, Mark, Luke and John). It is traditionally masculine, though occasionally given to girls. A famous bearer was the Italian physicist and mathematician Evangelista Torricelli (1608-1647), who invented the barometer.
Evangelos m Greek
Means "bringing good news" from the Greek word εὐάγγελος (euangelos), a derivative of εὖ (eu) meaning "good" and ἄγγελος (angelos) meaning "messenger".
Garvan m Irish
Anglicized form of Garbhán.
Ghjuvan m Corsican
Corsican form of John.
Ghjuvanni m Corsican
Corsican form of John.
Giovanni m Italian
Italian form of Iohannes (see John). This name has been very common in Italy since the late Middle Ages, as with other equivalents of John in Europe. The Renaissance writer Giovanni Boccaccio (1313-1375), the painter Giovanni Bellini (1430-1516) and the painter and sculptor Giovanni Lorenzo Bernini (1598-1680) were famous bearers of the name.
István m Hungarian
Hungarian form of Stephen. This was the name of the first king of Hungary. Ruling in the 11th century, he encouraged the spread of Christianity among his subjects and is considered the patron saint of Hungary.
Iván m Spanish, Hungarian
Spanish and Hungarian form of Ivan.
Ivan m Russian, Bulgarian, Ukrainian, Belarusian, Serbian, Macedonian, Croatian, Czech, Slovak, Slovene, English, Italian, Portuguese, Romanian, Danish, Swedish, Norwegian, Estonian
Newer form of the Old Church Slavic name Іѡаннъ (Ioannŭ), which was derived from Greek Ioannes (see John). This was the name of six Russian rulers, including the 15th-century Ivan III the Great and 16th-century Ivan IV the Terrible, the first tsar of Russia. It was also borne by nine emperors of Bulgaria. Other notable bearers include the Russian author Ivan Turgenev (1818-1883), who wrote Fathers and Sons, and the Russian physiologist Ivan Pavlov (1849-1936), who is best known for his discovery of the conditioned reflex.
Ivane m Georgian
Georgian form of John.
Ivano m Italian
Italian form of Ivan.
Ivans m Latvian
Latvian form of Ivan.
Javan m Biblical
Means "Greece" in Hebrew, probably related to Greek Ἴωνες (Iones), the name for the tribe of the Ionians. In the Old Testament this is the name of a grandson of Noah and the ancestor of the Greek peoples.
Jógvan m Faroese
Faroese form of Iohannes (see John).
Jovan m Serbian, Macedonian
Serbian and Macedonian form of John.
Kevan m English
Variant of Kevin.
Kıvanç m Turkish
Means "pleasure, joy" in Turkish.
Lavan m Biblical Hebrew
Hebrew form of Laban.
Levan m Georgian
Georgian form of Leon.
Levana 1 f & m Hebrew, Biblical Hebrew
Hebrew form of Lebanah. In modern Hebrew it is typically a feminine name.
Milovan m Serbian, Croatian
Derived from Slavic milovati meaning "to caress".
Nevan m Irish
Anglicized form of Naomhán.
Parvan m Bulgarian
From Bulgarian първи (parvi) meaning "first".
Pavan m Hindi, Nepali, Telugu, Kannada
Modern form of Pavana.
Pavana m Hinduism
Means "purification, wind, air" in Sanskrit. This is another name of the Hindu god Vayu.
Radovan m Slovak, Czech, Serbian, Croatian, Slovene, Macedonian
Derived from Slavic radovati meaning "to make happy, to gladden".
Ravana m Hinduism
Means "roaring, screaming", derived from Sanskrit रव (rava) meaning "roar, yell". In the Hindu epic the Ramayana this is the name of the demon king who abducts Sita.
Răzvan m Romanian
Meaning unknown, possibly related to the name Radovan. Alternatively it may have been brought to Romania by the Romani people (note that Romanian and Romani are unrelated), perhaps ultimately from Rizwan.
Rıdvan m Turkish
Turkish form of Ridwan.
Rızvan m Turkish
Turkish variant form of Ridwan.
Rizvan m Azerbaijani
Azerbaijani form of Ridwan.
Sevan f & m Armenian
From the name of the largest lake in Armenia, which may be from the Urartian word suinia simply meaning "lake".
Silvan m German (Swiss)
German form of Silvanus.
Silvano m Italian
Italian form of Silvanus.
Silvanus m Roman Mythology, Ancient Roman, Biblical, Biblical Latin
Roman cognomen meaning "of the woods", derived from Latin silva meaning "wood, forest". Silvanus was the Roman god of forests. This name appears in the New Testament belonging to one of Saint Paul's companions, also called Silas.
Şivan m Kurdish
Means "shepherd" in Kurdish.
Sovann m & f Khmer
Means "gold" in Khmer, ultimately from Sanskrit सुवर्ण (suvarṇa).
Sovanna f & m Khmer
Variant of Sovann.
Stevan m Serbian
Serbian form of Stephen.
Sullivan m English, French
From an Irish surname, the Anglicized form of Ó Súileabháin, itself from the given name Súileabhán, which was derived from Irish súil "eye" and dubh "dark, black" combined with a diminutive suffix. This name has achieved a moderate level of popularity in France since the 1970s. In the United States it was rare before the 1990s, after which it began climbing steadily. A famous fictional bearer of the surname was James P. Sullivan from the animated movie Monsters, Inc. (2001).
Svante m Swedish
Swedish short form of Svantepolk.
Svantepolk m Old Swedish
Old Swedish form of Svatopluk. It was borne by the prominent 13th-century Swedish nobleman Svantepolk Knutsson. He may have been named after a relative of his Pomeranian mother.
Sylvan m English
Either a variant of Silvanus or directly from the Latin word silva meaning "wood, forest".
Vân f & m Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese (vân) meaning "cloud".
Văn m Vietnamese
From Sino-Vietnamese (văn) meaning "literature, culture, writing". This is a common middle name for Vietnamese boys.
Van m English
Short form of names containing van, such as Vance or Ivan.
Vance m English
From an English surname that was derived from Old English fenn meaning "marsh, fen".
Vancho m Macedonian, Bulgarian (Rare)
Alternate transcription of Macedonian Ванчо (see Vančo), as well as the usual Bulgarian transcription.
Vančo m Macedonian
Macedonian diminutive of Ivan.
Vangel m Macedonian
Macedonian form of Evangelos.
Vangelis m Greek
Variant of Evangelos.
Vanja m & f Croatian, Serbian, Slovene, Swedish, Norwegian
Croatian, Serbian and Slovene (masculine and feminine) form of Vanya. It is also used in Scandinavia, where it is primarily feminine.
Vanna 2 f & m Khmer
From Khmer វណ្ណ (von) meaning "colour", ultimately from Sanskrit वर्ण (varṇa).
Vanni m Italian
Short form of Giovanni.
Vano m Georgian
Diminutive of Ivane.
Vanya m Russian
Diminutive of Ivan.
Yvan m French
French form of Ivan.