If the child is a male how about Curtisee Van xxxxx? Or Curtis E. Van xxxx?
Instead of a name relative to the van how about a name relative to the nation where they were traveling…Kanada (I do believe the Algonquin name for the land)…
Seeing as this trip was across Canada, and although you wern’t specific about where the girl (?) was conceived, it’s possible she was “made” in Nova Scotia, and you undoubtedly visited Nova Scotia, one of the great Canadian heroines and famous lady was from N. S.,“Evangeline”. If you prefer you could use this as a middle name with another less-obscure first name…The short version is “Vange”.
Naming rights aside, it occurs to me–being a midwife who has caught babies in just about every kind of shelter/dwelling you can imagine–you ought to give birth to the baby in the van! Wooing, conception, and a good deal of gestation has taken place there…may as well tidy up the conclusion, load the story, and sell the movie rights! (Then you can afford a camper!)
Well…as a midwife 
I don’t know about using a “van” name…but…have you thot about using your maiden name? As either a first or middle name? Or, even, the maiden names of the two grandma’s? So often, there are wonderful (ususally boy’s) name’s in the family that go unused: mom might have been “Susie Taylor” before she was married: the other g’ma’s might have been “Jane Austin” and/or “Alice Wilson”…hence…you could have a Taylor Van?! Or, even, an Austin Wilson! Whatever you do, try not to duplicate first initials, and have fun! Blessings to you and your baby!
Following the Westphalia line of thinking:
Ophelia
- she’ll be teased about so many other aspects of her name that its origin will seem tame by comparison
Hoppy
Brookfield, NH
We are all for Karra Vanna
Weslia sounds like someone’s dad really wanted a boy.
Clearly this is a poor idea, to name a child Van, Westphalia,VW, Hertz, or any other conveyance. It can only result in a lifetime of sneers, snickers, and innuendos.
Fred Winnebago Jacob
Saint Augustine, Florida
If it’s a girl go with Evangeline. It’s a pretty name.
Congrats and Good Luck!!!
-Danny & Lisa of NY
I got it, Ravan,
Do not do this to a child! He/she will not benefit from having an embarassing story connected to his/her name. Stop it! Don’t get your chuckles at the expense of a child.
Why not Vanderbilt? Or Van Der Built?
Our friends who are. . .uhm. . . hippie like loved their Volkswagon bus, so they named their daughter using the V for the first name and W for the middle name, so she has a nickname, VW. Her name is Violet Whimsey. Have fun with it and she will still love you!
Going back to the original question, I would suggest Wilma Van Gogh.
I’m not sure if the mom and dad will read all the comments posted but…I sure hope that they will take mom’s concern to heart: please think about the child as he/she grows. Name him or her anything that they like for a first name and then a nice middle name with van–Vanessa, Vanetta, Evan, even Devan (Fantasy Island fans, unite)–if they must. But beware what you saddle the kid with…I’ve been a teacher for 37 years and kids can be cruel…not to mention adults who can’t contain themselves when faced with a weird name.
Cara Van
Evan
As a unisex middle name, ‘VanDeKamp’ describes both the vehicle and the trip in which the child was conceived; what ‘Vangina’ might describe is possibly best left to the imagination, but might be particularly well suited to a child who was also born in the van. It’s certainly more interesting than a name that’s plain vanilla.
Love all the ideas! If it were me, I might go with the initials VW, for example, Violet Willa or Valentine William.
My 8 year old daughter, Lillian, this morning at breakfast suggested the name “Evan” for the van baby…who knew she was thinking about…