Vann
An English surname usually from a place by a threshing-floor or winnowing fan.
The #2,366 most common surname in the United States (2010 Census) — about 1 in every 20,028 Americans shares it.
Etymology
This name is generally explained as a topographic surname from Middle English van, meaning a winnowing fan or threshing implement, used for separating grain from chaff. In this sense, it could describe someone who lived near such a place or by the threshing-floor itself. The word goes back through Old French to Latin vannus, "winnowing fan."
History
Medieval records cited by surname writers show forms like atte Vanne/atte Vann, supporting an English topographic origin. Some later bearers may also reflect the occupational surname Vanner, but Vann itself is usually treated as the shorter place-based form. The name is most familiar in England and in English-speaking countries through later migration.
Origin
Regions
Variant spellings
Fun fact
Older surname books note that the West Country form Vann was especially common in some records, alongside the related Fann.
From the historical record
“VAN 1 (A.-Fr.-Lat.) Dweller by theWiNNOW- VANN / ing-Fan [Fr. van, Lat. vann-us'\ Richard atte Vanne. — Plac. de quo Warr., A.D. 1292. Cp. Fann(e. VANCE for Vannes or Vans, pi. of Van(n, q.v. VANDERBILT (Dut.) Of the Heap: v. the”
— Surnames of the United Kingdom: a concise etymological dictionary (2 vols in 1)