I was listening with my son, who is 6. His immediate suggestion was Van Gogh. As a middle name it isn’t too bad
Not to stray too far beyond the limits, but one of my favorite names is Sojourner, which I thought meant ‘traveler’ or ‘wanderer’. Its a big name for a wee baby, but my girl’s middle name is Artemisia, and she’s grown into it! Best wishes and have fun.
Tara was not too fond of “Van” anything, so maybe as a remembrance of the episode, his middle name could be “TommyRay” (TommiRae if a girl is delivered)
Why not Vanadis for a girl and Vanadium for a boy?
Ivan, evan, evanne, jovan, movan? levan, giovani, are additions, as long as it is not a boy named sue:)
Calvan, Camper.
Tara, I was listening this morning and I think you were wondering about the effect it could have on your son or daughter. Well, I wanted to share that of my 3 kids, I let my husband talk me out of the names I wanted to give 2 of them and I regret it! I wanted to give my son two middle names, like my father had, and didn’t. My daughter regrets it the most with her name. We had a tornado rip through our town while we were on vacation. When we returned, I got pregnant with her. Our last name is Willis and I wanted to name her Windy. She doesn’t like the name we did give her and she wishes it was Windy! There is no knowing what your child’s opinion will be when you share this story with them and you will tell them! Your kids like to know where their names originated from. Just saying…it’s your child…no one can tell you what to do and in our state, the dad has no say-- at least 20 years ago he didn’t. It was all the mom’s decision, she had the only opinion that mattered! Ha! There are some great names suggested here. I love Savanna or, choose a Canadian city’s name. I’m sure there are some beautiful ones. Good luck and blessed wishes to you and your new arrival!!
How about Vancouver…boy or girl…Tara travel with Curtis in Canada I recall. Even if they did not visit Vancouver…it’s a cool name!
Forget ‘Van’; use BUSter.
I think the idea is great, you can always use the middle name for something more traditional or family heritage oriented. I would suggest the name Gavan (I know it is spelled a little different than mainstream, but that would promote discussion on where it came from) or Wes (short for the model of your van) for a boy. I would have to concur with others on the girl name being Savannah. Make sure you save a clip from the show to give to your child later on in life. They will think its great.
If its a Toyota van, what about Exaler Ration?
The one key thing I got from playing the call is that many of your friends/family think the child was conceived in the van but their suspicions are unfounded. In other words, they are pulling your leg. Perhaps you could use this as an argument against the idea of including van in your child’s name. I grew up being teased mercilessly because of my name, and would not want to see anyone else have to endure such a childhood.
They should not pick a name for their child related to the van trip. It will always be a problem for the child as he or she grows up and will be teased about it.
Hello as a new fan of Car Talk my post for a name was taken by another post. The name Vidalia which is a city in Georgia that has an onion festival when the crop comes in. How about “Vancamps” it is a food brand which might have been in the grocery bag
My first response is “be careful what you ask for” . . … . your child will live with your decision. But use some creativity . … and it may work.
Girls Names: (Not so much liking Vanessa)
- Vanna (then add, maybe Tara?s middle name, might have a similar sound)
- Evania (Greek for ?serene?)
- Savannah
- (VW) Victoria Wish or Valarie or Vallari (middle name . . Wish, or Wynn, or Wii)
- Jeovanna, Jovanni, or Jovannah
- Levanna
- Nirvanna
Boys Names:
- Vance
- (solid manly first name: John, Peter, etc.) middle name ?Vanguard?
- Evan
- Weston or Westly (in response to the Westfailia model)
- So maybe you could combine ?Weston Vanguard? . . . nick name when you call him in at night ?West?
- Devan (as in ?da? van?)
- Donovan ( as in don=?put on? a van)
- Ivan
- Kevan
- Stevan
- VW combo . . Victor, Vincent, Vance … . . William, Walsh, Walker, Walden, Walden, . . .
Blessings to you all .
While there are several good choices for names IMOO I believe it would be prudent to pick a non van related name. The people I have meet in the past that were named for something other than a family name (something odd) always claimed their parents were stoned, drunk, stupid or hated them when they were born.
Name the baby a name that means something other than a location where no one could control their urges.
For a girl: Savanna. Also, Parvaneh (a popular Persian name for a girl. It means butterfly)
I think the name should capture more of the spirit of the trip. They should look to those items that held everything together when the going got rough. With that in mind, the baby should be named Duck Tape Jones.
Tara and Curtis, I don’t know about a baby boy…but the perfect name for a baby girl would be Vanessa Ophelia. It is beautiful and I think she would find it romantic when you tell her the meaning. Don’t underestimate this girl!
Alice Humbert
I would keep it simple with the middle initial V.
One of my old school friends was named John V Smith (I changed the Smith 
It took us years to find out his middle name. Apparently, his parents had invited Grandmother to choose a name for the baby. She chose Valentine! His parents, not being able to withdraw the offer, added John as a first name but still gave him Valentine as the second. John was John V, for ever - only a few knew the full story.
So, as your kid grows up, just having a middle initial will suffice all the interest. The real family story will just stay in the family.
Kevin