Vancouver

The story

1. Proto-Indo-European*h₂ep
2. Proto-Indo-European*h₂epó
3. Proto-Indo-European*h₂pó
4. Proto-Germanic*fanē
5. Proto-West Germanic*fanā
6. Old Dutchfan
7. Middle Dutchvan
8. Dutchvan
9. Proto-Indo-European*gʷṓws
10. Proto-Germanic*kōz
11. Proto-West Germanic*kō
12. Old Dutchcuo
13. Middle Dutchcoe
14. Dutchkoe
15. Proto-Indo-European*per-
16. Proto-Indo-European*pértus
17. Proto-Germanic*furduz
18. Proto-West Germanic*furdu
19. Old Dutch*furt
20. Middle Dutchvort
21. Dutchvoorde
22. DutchCoevorden
23. Dutchvan Coevorden
24. English todayVancouver

The family name is from the Dutch place name Coevorden (“the place where cows ford the river”) via the Dutch family name van Coevorden (“a person from Coevorden”). The place names are derived from the family name, being named after George Vancouver, an English explorer who charted the northwestern Pacific coast of North America in a 1791–1794 expedition.