Vance

also Vans, de Vaux, Vaux

Of the valleys, a Norman name on the Scots-Irish road.

Origin: North East, England
Famous bearer: J. D. Vance (b. 1984), author and US Vice President
Register: English family

Territory of Vance

CoreHistoric reach

The seat of Vance

Seat vacant

Chief

No one leads the Vance community yet. When the movement opens, you can stand for its leadership, or help elect whoever does.

Current mission

No shared goal set yet. Once Vance has leadership, it sets the public focus: a restoration, a gathering, a real-world project that helps its own.

The Vance clan is being rebuilt. Join the waiting list for the movement today, and you help decide who leads it and what it does.

Help rebuild the Vance clan →

What does the Vance name mean?

The history of Vance

The de Vaux who held lands in Cumberland and Northumberland after the Conquest share a root with the Galloway Vans of Barnbarroch, a Wigtownshire house of standing from the fifteenth century. The contracted spelling Vance settled along the Anglo-Scottish border and travelled with the Ulster-Scots, first to the plantation counties of the north of Ireland and then, in the great eighteenth-century migration, to the Appalachian backcountry of Pennsylvania, Virginia and the Carolinas.

That Appalachian line is the one most diaspora readers are tracing: J. D. Vance (b. 1984), author of the memoir Hillbilly Elegy and United States Vice President, writes explicitly of his Scots-Irish Kentucky roots. The American diplomatic Vances, Cyrus Vance (1917–2002), Secretary of State under President Carter, and his son Cyrus Vance Jr., the Manhattan District Attorney, descend from the same migratory stock.

Also found in

The Vance name has substantial historical presence beyond England. See it on Scotland.

Step Into History

Walk the streets and seats the Vance name knew — a photoreal walk through time, on foot.

Step Into History · New

Walk London in 1818Enter →

St Paul's, Covent Garden and the gaslit West End — Regency London, soot-hazed and horse-drawn.

Notable bearers of the Vance name

J. D. Vance (b. 1984), author and US Vice President
Cyrus Vance (1917–2002), US Secretary of State
Cyrus Vance Jr. (b. 1954), Manhattan District Attorney

Frequently asked

What does the surname Vance mean?

From the Anglo-Norman de Vaux (also de Vans), 'of the valleys', Old French vaus, the plural of val. The Norman de Vaux families spread across northern England and into south-west Scotland, where the line became the Vans of Barnbarroch in Galloway. The clipped border form Vance carried from the Scottish south-west into Ulster with the seventeenth-century plantation, and from Ulster into Appalachia. The de Vaux who held lands in Cumberland and Northumberland after the Conquest share a root with the Galloway Vans of Barnbarroch, a Wigtownshire house of standing from the fifteenth century.

Where does the Vance family come from?

The Vance family is rooted in North East and North West, in England. Within that, the name was particularly concentrated in Northumberland and Cumbria. The atlas page for the name records the historical territory it has held over the centuries.

Where did the Vance family historically hold territory?

At its greatest historical extent, the Vance name has been concentrated in Tyneside, Wearside & County Durham and London. The atlas page distinguishes the core territory of the name from this wider historical reach with hatched silhouettes on the map.

Is Vance a England surname?

Vance is primarily a England surname; it also has substantial historical presence in Scotland. The editorial home of the name in this atlas is England, where the record is densest, with the cross-border presence noted under "Also found in".

How old is the Vance surname?

The de Vaux who held lands in Cumberland and Northumberland after the Conquest share a root with the Galloway Vans of Barnbarroch, a Wigtownshire house of standing from the fifteenth century. European hereditary surnames crystallised broadly between the 12th and 14th centuries, and the Vance name took its modern form within that long settlement.

What is the Vance family known for?

Of the valleys, a Norman name on the Scots-Irish road. The de Vaux who held lands in Cumberland and Northumberland after the Conquest share a root with the Galloway Vans of Barnbarroch, a Wigtownshire house of standing from the fifteenth century.

Who is the most famous Vance?

The best-known bearer of the Vance name is J. D. Vance (b. 1984), author and US Vice President. Other prominent figures of the family include Cyrus Vance (1917–2002), US Secretary of State and Cyrus Vance Jr. (b. 1954), Manhattan District Attorney.

Who are some famous Vances?

Notable bearers of the Vance name include J. D. Vance (b. 1984), author and US Vice President, Cyrus Vance (1917–2002), US Secretary of State and Cyrus Vance Jr. (b. 1954), Manhattan District Attorney. Each is profiled on the family page, with cross-links to the geography, stories, and historical events tied to their life.

Is Vans the same family as Vance?

Yes. Vans is a historical spelling variant of the Vance name. The two share the same lineage and family affiliation; different parishes, clerks and migration registrars recorded the same name in slightly different forms, and the variant spellings sit on the same family tree.

Is de Vaux the same family as Vance?

Yes. de Vaux is a historical spelling variant of the Vance name. The two share the same lineage and family affiliation; different parishes, clerks and migration registrars recorded the same name in slightly different forms, and the variant spellings sit on the same family tree.

Is Vaux the same family as Vance?

Yes. Vaux is a historical spelling variant of the Vance name. The two share the same lineage and family affiliation; different parishes, clerks and migration registrars recorded the same name in slightly different forms, and the variant spellings sit on the same family tree.

Where is the Vance surname found today?

England is the primary historical home of the Vance surname. In the modern era, the name is also borne across the wider diaspora, particularly in the United States, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, where families carry the line of descent from the same England origin recorded on this page.

What does the Clan Rising page for the Vance family cover?

The Clan Rising page for the Vance family covers the meaning of the surname, the historical geography of the name, famous bearers of the name and the seat of the head of the family. Each section is linked to the underlying atlas of England so the name can be read in the geography that shaped it.

Who is the head of the Vance family today?

The seat for the head of the Vance family is currently vacant on this register. Clan Rising is rebuilding the chief and family structure for the modern era, and the family page allows readers to claim the seat or pledge to the name.