Vance is used as a family name or surname in Ireland, Scotland. It is 5 characters long in length.

Family Name / Last Name: Vance
No. of characters: 5
Origin: Ireland, Scotland
Meaning:

Family name is variant of Vaux. 1. It is said that the illustrious family of Vaux derived their surname from a district in Normandy; which is very probable, there being seven or eight places in that province still so designated. It is further asserted that so early as A.D. 794, a branch of the family, bearing the surname of Beaux, Baux, or Vaux, were settled in Provence; which cannot be correct, as heritable family names were not introduced until long after that date. There is, however, no doubt of the influence of the Vauxes in the South of France, and in Italy, at a remote period. A tomb erected in 1615, in the church of St. Clair at Naples, by Hieronymus de Vaux, contains the bones of divers of the females of his ancestry, namely:-
Antonia de Vaux, Queen of Sicily.
Isabella de Vaux, Queen of Naples.
Cecilia de Vaux, Countess of Savoy.
Sibella de Vaux, Princess of Piedmont.
Maria de Vaux, Dauphiness of Vienne.
Isabella de Vaux, Despotess of Servia.

The English family spring from Bertrand de Vaux, who was living in 929, and was a favourite of Robert I, Duke of Normandy, the Conqueror's grandfather. Harold de Vaux, Lord of Vaux, attended William I at the Conquest, and was accompanied by his three sons, Hubert, Ranulph, and Robert. From Hubert sprang the great house of Vaux, or De Vallibus, of Cumberland; and from Robert came the Barons Vaux, of Harrowden, county of Northampton. The heiress of the elder line of this Robert married, in 1553, Thomas Brougham, Lord of Brougham, county of Westmoreland, and hence the title of Henry, Lord Brougham and Vaux. 2. The Old French form of De Vallibus, of the origin of which, as a surname, we have this account in Denton's Cumberland MSS., under the barony of Gilsland: "This great barony was given by the Earl Ranulph Meschines to one Hubertus, to be holden of him by two knights' fees and cornage: he was called De Vallibus, or Vaulx, from the dales or Vallies, whereof that country is full. The French word Vaulx (pronounced Vaux) became thence a surname to him and his posterity there, and to divers other families that took their beginning from the younger brothers of this house." Hutchinson's Cumberland.

The family name is a variant of the Van. A prefix to Dutch family names, many of which have become naturalized in England, as Vanburgh, Vandeput, Vansittart, Vanneck, Vanwilder, etc. Like the French DE, and the old English ATTE, it implies residence in a place; thus Hendrik Van der Veld signifies Henry at the Field; Dirk Van der Bogart, Theodore of the Orchard; Rykert Van Buren, Richard of Buren, a town in Holland, etc. So very common is this prefix in Holland, that, in speaking of a person's family name, they call it his VAN; as in the phrase: "Ik weet zyn Van niet." —I don't know his Surname.

A form of Vose. Dweller at, or near, a ditch.

Dweller near a small hill or burial mound; the son of Van.

Lastname Vance is the variant form of Van. Dweller near the place where grain was threshed.

The surname is form of Van. Of Dam.

Family name is the variant of Vaux. Valleys.

A variant form of Vaus. This surname is said by Sir James Dalrymple to be the same with DeVallibus - doubtless through Vaux. In the XII century this great Anglo-Norman family obtained a footing in Scotland, and were lords of Dirleton, county of Haddington; and from them sprang the Vauses or De Vaux, Lords Dirleton.

How popular is Vance?

Vance is common in United States, Canada, Australia, England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, Ireland, South Africa, Brazil, Philippines.

Vance is ranked 8304 on our list.

Despite the fact that the number of Vance bearers increased by 3.41 per cent in 2010 US census to 47324 since 2000, the surname slipped by 51 spots and ranked at 737. The last name was found in around 2 per ten thousand population. Please refer to following table for race and ethnicity.

Race 2010 2000
White 81.62 83.42
Black 12.88 12.46
Hispanic or Latino 2.44 1.51
Others 1.86 1.51
American Indian and Alaska Native 0.65 0.71
Asian and Native Hawaiian
& Other Pacific Islander		 0.55 0.39
Vance is quite popular family name mostly used in United States while Northern Ireland is ahead in terms of density. Around 68678 people have been found who wears Vance as their family name. Vance is used widely across the globe. More detailed information can be found below:
RankCountryCount
Countries with ten thousands of Vance:
692 United States60,866
Countries with thousands of Vance:
2,053 Canada2,643
2,565 Australia1,469
6,355 England1,080
Countries with hundreds of Vance:
538 Northern Ireland698
1,355 Scotland553
1,870 Ireland276
36,044 South Africa131
59,054 Brazil117
85,691 Philippines102
Countries with low frequency i.e., 50 - 100:
1,875 Trinidad and Tobago93
8,584 New Zealand84
118,069 France61
Countries with very low frequency i.e., 10 - 50:
110,053 Germany40
41,852 Romania35
250,768 Thailand32
35,301 Pakistan31
8,167 Wales30
226,919 Russia28
122,818 DR Congo27
246,176 Indonesia25
4,443 China17
23,687 United Arab Emirates15
127,728 Argentina14
34,015 Norway14
37,743 Mexico14
18,211 Singapore13
552,550 India13
Countries with very very low frequency i.e., 6 - 10:
81,336 Sweden9
58,198 Switzerland9
11,581 Ghana9
1,961 American Samoa6
Show Full Last Name Distribution

Immigrants to US

From Ireland

Workwoman Eliza Vance from Great Britain aboard the Orphan from Liverpool during the Irish famine. She is registered to be 30 years old when she arrived in USA on May 1, 1846. Maid Catherine Vance, Ann Vance, aged 17, Workman James Vance, Clerk Joseph Vance, William-J. Vance (26) Barrister, Martin Vance (24) Immigrant, Spinster Sarah Vance, Chamber Vance, aged 16, and 42 other Vance around 37.14% of whom were workman while others worked as servant and spinster, farmer migrated to US from Liverpool, Dublin and Londonderry.

From Germany

Anna Vance from Germany aboard the Noordland from Antwerp on February 26, 1897. She is registered to be 25 years old when she arrived in USA.

Vance Namesakes

  • Clarice Vance, American vaudeville personality
  • Robert Brank Vance, Congressional Representative from North Carolina
  • Dennis Vance, British television producer and director
  • Louis Joseph Vance, American novelist, born in Washington, D. C.
  • Janetta Vance, British archer
  • Paul Vance, mypalmbeachpost
  • William R. Vance, seventh mayor of Louisville
  • Donald Vance, American Navy veteran
  • Nina Vance, founder and first artistic director of the Alley Theatre
  • Robert J. Vance, U.S. Representative from Connecticut
  • Jack Vance, American mystery, fantasy
  • Cyrus Vance, American lawyer and United States Secretary of State under President Jimmy Carter
  • Vivian Vance, American television and theater actress and singer
  • Zebulon Baird Vance, Confederate military officer
  • Danitra Vance, American comedian and actress best known as a cast member on the NBC sketch show 'Saturday Night Live' during its eleventh season and for work
  • Courtney B. Vance, American actor notable for his roles
  • Joseph Vance, Whig politician from Ohio
  • Dazzy Vance, American professional baseball player
  • Tommy Vance, English radio broadcaster, born in Eynsham
  • Jim Vance, American television news anchor in Washington
  • William Vance, Belgian comics artist
  • Leon Vance, Vance Jr
  • Robert Vance, former New Zealand cricketer
  • At Vance, German neoclassical/power metal band
  • Samuel B. H. Vance, officeholder
  • Alfred Vance, 19th-century English music hall singer
  • Jody Vance, Canadian sports anchor and former co-host of 'Breakfast Television' on CKVU-DT
  • Ashlee Vance, American business columnist and author
  • Gene Vance, American professional basketball player for the NBA's Chicago Stags and a collegiate athlete for the University of Illinois Fighting Illini basketball team
  • Phyllis Vance, Yarn store employee, St
  • Foy Vance, Northern Irish musician and singer-songwriter signed to Glassnote Records
  • Robert B. Vance, North Carolina Democratic politician
  • Harold Sines Vance, American automobile company executive and government official
  • Sheldon B. Vance, U.S. Ambassador to Zaire
  • John L. Vance, U.S. Representative from Ohio
  • Sandy Vance, pitcher in Major League Baseball

Vance Namesakes

  • Clarice Vance, American vaudeville personality
  • Robert Brank Vance, Congressional Representative from North Carolina
  • Dennis Vance, British television producer and director
  • Louis Joseph Vance, American novelist, born in Washington, D. C.
  • Janetta Vance, British archer
  • Paul Vance, mypalmbeachpost
  • William R. Vance, seventh mayor of Louisville
  • Donald Vance, American Navy veteran
  • Nina Vance, founder and first artistic director of the Alley Theatre
  • Robert J. Vance, U.S. Representative from Connecticut
  • Jack Vance, American mystery, fantasy
  • Cyrus Vance, American lawyer and United States Secretary of State under President Jimmy Carter
  • Vivian Vance, American television and theater actress and singer
  • Zebulon Baird Vance, Confederate military officer
  • Danitra Vance, American comedian and actress best known as a cast member on the NBC sketch show 'Saturday Night Live' during its eleventh season and for work
  • Courtney B. Vance, American actor notable for his roles
  • Joseph Vance, Whig politician from Ohio
  • Dazzy Vance, American professional baseball player
  • Tommy Vance, English radio broadcaster, born in Eynsham
  • Jim Vance, American television news anchor in Washington
  • William Vance, Belgian comics artist
  • Leon Vance, Vance Jr
  • Robert Vance, former New Zealand cricketer
  • At Vance, German neoclassical/power metal band
  • Samuel B. H. Vance, officeholder
  • Alfred Vance, 19th-century English music hall singer
  • Jody Vance, Canadian sports anchor and former co-host of 'Breakfast Television' on CKVU-DT
  • Ashlee Vance, American business columnist and author
  • Gene Vance, American professional basketball player for the NBA's Chicago Stags and a collegiate athlete for the University of Illinois Fighting Illini basketball team
  • Phyllis Vance, Yarn store employee, St
  • Foy Vance, Northern Irish musician and singer-songwriter signed to Glassnote Records
  • Robert B. Vance, North Carolina Democratic politician
  • Harold Sines Vance, American automobile company executive and government official
  • Sheldon B. Vance, U.S. Ambassador to Zaire
  • John L. Vance, U.S. Representative from Ohio
  • Sandy Vance, pitcher in Major League Baseball

Related Family Names: