Nance as a Baby Name. Meaning and Origin of Nance

What is the meaning of the name Nance ?

The baby name Nance is a Female name , 1 syllables long and is pronounced /næns/ ("NANS", rhymes with "dance").

Nance is English in Origin.

Nance is an English given name most often used as a short form of Nancy, and secondarily as a transferred surname. Nancy arose in Middle English from Nan, a pet form of Ann/Anne, ultimately from Hebrew Hannah "grace, favor," with the affectionate suffix -cy; by that line, Nance carries the meaning "grace" or "favored." As a surname, Nance comes from Cornish Nans "valley," so the name can also allude to a valley landscape.

Documented in Britain and the United States from the 18th to 20th centuries, Nance appears both as a familiar nickname and as an independent given name, with rarer unisex use. Its popularity shadowed Nancy's early- to mid-20th-century boom and has since become uncommon. Variants and related forms include Nancy, Nanci, Nancie, Nancee; diminutives Nan and Nannie/Nanny; and the root names Ann, Anne, Anna, and Hannah, along with cognates such as Ana (Spanish/Portuguese).