The Secret Symbol in the Vans Logo That No One Noticed—Until Now

When you think of iconic logos, your mind probably drifts to the swoosh of Nike, the golden arches of McDonald’s, or heck, even the neon sign of your favorite local kebab joint. But here’s a curveball for ya—what if I told you the Vans logo is not just some random design slapped on a shoe? Turns out, it’s a sly little math joke hiding in plain sight. Yep, that “V” isn’t just a letter; it’s the square root symbol—talk about radical! Who knew a brand that started as a skateboard project had such a cleverly accidental twist baked right into its identity? Trust me, once you spot this hidden secret, you’ll never look at those shoes the same way again. Curious to find out how Vans went from skateboards to the “square root of the answer”? LEARN MORE.

When it comes to iconic logos, we usually think of Nike, McDonald’s or perhaps just your local kebab shop.

But few logos can claim to be as cleverly thought out as the Vans logo, which some people are only just realising has a ‘hidden secret meaning’ which certainly makes it stand out as one of the best.

Brands and logos are a big part of our lives but often we don’t take notice of them, which was only too clear when some people realised that the amount of stars on the Paramount logo has changed several times.

Even Amazon has a secret meaning, as the arrow underneath points from A to Z, highlighting the fact that the massive company has everything you could possibly need.

However, Vans’ logo was actually something of a happy accident, and anyone who has got their GCSE in maths should recognise that the V in Vans is actually the square root symbol.

The Vans logo (Kevin Carter/Getty Images)

The original version of the logo was created by the son of the one of the brand’s founders, who actually originally intended to paint it on a skateboard. However, when his father James Van Doren saw the graphic, he decided to put it on the heel of one of the company’s shoe designs.

And, if you put the square root of ANS on a calculator, then you realise that it is the ‘square root of answer’, suggesting that it can be the answer to all your problems.

But wait, there’s more.

Did you know this? (Christian Vierig/Getty Images)

The square root symbol is also known as a radical, which makes the shoes’ branding as one for skaters make all the more sense, as that was a common way to describe something as awesome particularly in the 90s and early 00s.

After the groundbreaking news was posted on Twitter back in 2022, commenters quickly shared just how shocked they were when they realised the truth.

One person tweeted: “Someone told me that the vanslogo looks like a math equation & now that’s all I see.”

“Something about vans logo makes me wanna do maths man,” another joked.

It was also shared on TikTok, where one user said: “”I was today years old when I realised the Vans logo is the square root of the answer,” along with a shocked emoji.

The response underneath reads: “Once you see it, you can’t unsee it.”