An Irish, Scottish and English surname, the Vance surname refers to a person who lived in a marshy region. It comes from the Old English term of ‘fenn’ meaning marsh. Variations in spelling the surname Vance include Vaux, Vans, and de Vallibus. In England the majority of Vance families originated in Yorkshire, Lancashire, Essex and the city of London area. In Scotland the Vance surname is found in East Lothian, Renfrewshire, Ayrshire and Lanarkshire counties. Within the United States Vance families originated in Pennsylvania, New York, West Virginia, Illinois, Ohio, Missouri, Kentucky and Indiana. Famous: Courtney B. Vance (actor), Charles ‘Dazzy’ Vance (professional baseball player), Paul Vance (song writer), Terry Vance (co-founder of Vance & Hines Co for motorcycle parts), Vivian Vance (film and television actress) and Danitra Vance (comedian).