The first name Vanya
A girl’s name from Russian meaning “johnny”, “john”.
2 syllables Female
Meaning and origin
Russian origin
Vanya means “johnny”, “john” in Russian.
Romanization of Russian and Ukrainian Ва́ня (Vánja, “Johnny”), a diminutive of Ива́н (Iván), Іван (Ivan, “John”)
Vanya is a short form of
- Russian
From Wiktionary (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Popularity
Babies registered in England and Wales, 1996–2025
In 2025, 19 girls were named Vanya, making it the 1,584th most popular girls’ name.
Office for National Statistics; years with fewer than three births are not published and show as zero. Compare Vanya with other names.
Popularity in the United States
Babies named Vanya at birth, 1880–2025
In 2025, 75 girls born in the United States were named Vanya, the 2,408th most popular girls’ name that year. It was used most in 2020, when 83 were.
US Social Security Administration, from applications for a Social Security card. A name is only published for a year when at least five babies were given it, so quieter years show as zero.
Nicknames and spellings
Other spellings and forms
- Vania
Famous people named Vanya
1 on Wikidata, most written-about first
- Vanya PetkovaBulgarian poet, 1944–2009
More Russian girls’ names
Questions
- What does the name Vanya mean?
- Vanya means “johnny”, “john” in Russian.
- What is the origin of the name Vanya?
- Romanization of Russian and Ukrainian Ва́ня (Vánja, “Johnny”), a diminutive of Ива́н (Iván), Іван (Ivan, “John”)
- How popular is the name Vanya?
- In 2025, 19 girls born in England and Wales were named Vanya, ranking 1,584th.
- Is Vanya a boy's or a girl's name?
- Mostly a girl's name: 100% of the 1,279 US babies named Vanya since 1880 were girls.
- When was Vanya most popular?
- 2020 in the United States, when 83 babies were named Vanya, its highest rank at 2,194th.
- What are other spellings of Vanya?
- Vania.