According to the 12th-century historian Vardan Areveltsi, the original name of Van city was Yervandavan.

 According to the 12th-century historian Vardan Areveltsi, the original name of Van city was Yervandavan. Historically, however, the city was first called Tushpa, likely pronounced as Tosp, which later named the surrounding Tosp canton where Van is located. Interestingly, Greek and Roman sources don’t unambiguously mention “Van,” though “Tosp” is well-documented.

Vardan’s claim may have rational roots: a nearby canton was named Yervandunik’ ("land of Yervanduni"), which was also found in the Araratian plain, representing hereditary lands of the Yervanduni dynasty. Tosp thus became their capital, possibly leading to a new name. After Yervanduni’s decline, the city’s name evolved from the local parallel Biaina term (pronounced as Vayn) into Van.

Tosp was the royal city of Biaina dynasty (term used by Grekyan), or better known as Urartu’s rulers. Based on king names the Yervanduni and Biaina dynasties were distinct groups. A power shift from the Biaina to Yervanduni dynasties occurred at some point, though details remain unclear due to a lack of records. Archaeology and paleogenetics in Tosp/Van may eventually clarify this dynastic shift, often mistakenly seen as a transition from Urartu to Armenia