Vance
/væns/noun
A proper name used chiefly as a surname and given name.
Did you know?Vance has more than one documented origin: some families derive it from Norman French place-names related to Vaux, while others are an anglicized form of Irish MacGabhann, meaning “son of the smith.”
Etymological Timeline
Proto-Indo-European
PIE
*wel-
“A root associated with turning, enclosing, or rolling; one proposed ancestor of Latin vallis, though the exact development is debated.”
Classical Latin
Latin
vallis
“Valley or enclosed lowland.”
Medieval Latin / Old French
Old French
Val, Vaux
“A valley or a place named for a valley; Vaux became a common Norman place-name element.”
Medieval England and Scotland
Anglo-Norman / Scots
Vance, Vans
“A surname associated with families connected to Norman place-names such as Vaux.”
Medieval Ireland
Irish
MacGabhann
“Son of the smith; an independent Irish source of some families later recorded in English as Vance.”
Modern English
English
Vance
“A surname and given name, notably borne by American writer Vance Bourjaily and U.S. politician J. D. Vance.”
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