The municipality (originally the parish) is named after the old farm Vang (Norse Vangr), since the first church was built here. The name is identical with the word vangr m 'field, meadow'.

Vang is part of the Valdres region in central, southern Norway. This region is situated between Gudbrandsdal and Hallingdal.

Vang municipality is 56 km on a north-south axis and 47.3 km on an east-west axis. The highest point is Kalvehøgdi with a height of 2208 meters above sea-level.

Three quarters of the region is above 900 meters. Five percent of the area is covered by water. The lowest point is 363 meters above sea-level.