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Van is a preposition in the Dutch and Afrikaans languages, meaning "of" or "from". It is also a common prefix in Dutch language surnames (being known as a tussenvoegsel), as in Vincent van Gogh or Marco van Basten. It can appear by itself or in combination with another prefix, such as van de, van der and van den (current and archaic forms of the article de, meaning "the") and less commonly van het or van 't' (the neutral article het). Common is ver, a contraction of van der and written as a single word with the rest of the surname, as in Johannes Vermeer. The German "von" is a cognate of Dutch "van", though unlike the German "von", the Dutch "van" is not an indication of nobility or royalty. These prepositions usually refer to a geographic place.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_(Dutch)                                                

Or one of these?

can u explain that name VAN  in french for understating well?

Colleen

The meaning of the name Van:
Van \van\ as a boy's name (also used as girl's name Van), is pronounced van. It is of Danish origin, and the meaning of Van is "of". Equivalent of "de" in French names. Also a nickname for Evan. Van was sometimes converted from a surname prefix to a given name by early immigrants to America. The name became familiar in the 1950s due to actors Van Johnson and Van Heflin. Pianist Van Cliburn; actor Van Johnson.
Read more at http://www.thinkbabynames.com/meaning/1/Van#BV1mxouSPedqfbHO.99