Vivian Name Meaning, Origin, Popularity, Girl Names Like Vivian

Vivian Name Origin: Latin
Pronunciation: viv-ee-in
See what 25 people think about Vivian

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Vivian Name Meaning

A mature pick ripe with cheery nicknames, Vivian is a timeless classic that’s bursting with style and elegance. With her meaning of “alive,” she’s the perfect name for the newest member of your family.

Originally a male name, little Vivian has mostly left the unisex space stateside to become a solidly female choice much like Evelyn. This doesn’t mean you can’t draw inspiration from her past male associations, however, like human rights activist Vivian Wilson Henderson. She does have plenty of modern female wearers as well like actress Vivian Bang and Olympic runner Vivian Cheruiyot. You may also recognize her from Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood as the character Vivian Walker.

Like other vintage girl names, Vivian has an air of sophistication to her that’s hard not to love. She is, of course, fashionable and regal on an adult, but she can be lightened up with Viv or Vivi on a little one. That doesn’t mean she can’t work on a teetering toddler as well, as more and more old-fashioned picks are appearing on the playground and Vivian herself is a lively one.

Vivian does have tons of alternative spellings to contend with including Vivienne, Viviane, and Vivien, though Vivian tends to be the most commonly used.

Vivian Name Popularity

How popular is the name Vivian? Here’s everything we know.

Year	Rank	# Births	% Births
1910	105	777	0.2207%
1911	80	1,198	0.3217%
1912	84	1,465	0.2905%
1913	83	1,709	0.3014%
1914	81	2,068	0.2967%
1915	78	2,854	0.3141%
1916	77	3,045	0.3152%
1917	79	3,116	0.3115%
1918	72	3,659	0.3409%
1919	72	3,630	0.3467%
1920	64	4,121	0.3706%
1921	68	4,100	0.3581%
1922	74	3,728	0.3346%
1923	69	3,831	0.342%
1924	71	3,844	0.331%
1925	76	3,570	0.3159%
1926	80	3,423	0.3112%
1927	78	3,488	0.3151%
1928	78	3,298	0.3082%
1929	80	3,093	0.2986%
1930	90	2,866	0.2744%
1931	82	2,888	0.2926%
1932	90	2,660	0.2692%
1933	99	2,368	0.2542%
1934	98	2,409	0.2492%
1935	112	2,113	0.2174%
1936	115	2,006	0.2082%
1937	128	1,889	0.1917%
1938	132	1,794	0.1752%
1939	127	1,864	0.1832%
1940	115	2,249	0.2116%
1941	114	2,263	0.2011%
1942	124	2,199	0.1741%
1943	122	2,309	0.1769%
1944	129	2,004	0.1617%
1945	118	2,156	0.1768%
1946	120	2,416	0.1637%
1947	127	2,474	0.1482%
1948	126	2,408	0.1508%
1949	136	2,319	0.1442%
1950	138	2,255	0.1401%
1951	138	2,390	0.141%
1952	142	2,496	0.143%
1953	149	2,334	0.1319%
1954	155	2,265	0.1239%
1955	155	2,345	0.1275%
1956	147	2,549	0.135%
1957	153	2,416	0.1256%
1958	172	2,185	0.1156%
1959	177	2,156	0.1135%
1960	188	1,999	0.1055%
1961	195	1,851	0.098%
1962	208	1,710	0.0931%
1963	205	1,711	0.0953%
1964	224	1,484	0.0843%
1965	244	1,220	0.0746%
1966	258	1,032	0.0661%
1967	258	1,015	0.0669%
1968	285	891	0.0593%
1969	312	786	0.051%
1970	339	738	0.0464%
1971	359	633	0.0421%
1972	379	526	0.0386%
1973	381	498	0.0384%
1974	395	478	0.0368%
1975	449	388	0.0302%
1976	487	330	0.0256%
1977	520	308	0.0228%
1978	524	307	0.0228%
1979	455	404	0.0287%
1980	500	365	0.025%
1981	531	313	0.0213%
1982	505	353	0.0236%
1983	488	359	0.0243%
1984	488	370	0.0249%
1985	502	360	0.0237%
1986	495	390	0.0258%
1987	508	372	0.0244%
1988	511	395	0.0253%
1989	506	424	0.0263%
1990	454	497	0.03%
1991	316	822	0.0504%
1992	309	871	0.0546%
1993	295	902	0.0579%
1994	301	877	0.0571%
1995	319	822	0.0545%
1996	319	849	0.0567%
1997	320	870	0.0588%
1998	328	868	0.058%
1999	283	1,088	0.0727%
2000	272	1,152	0.0754%
2001	311	988	0.0656%
2002	252	1,239	0.0827%
2003	226	1,426	0.0937%
2004	231	1,397	0.0917%
2005	223	1,533	0.1003%
2006	224	1,506	0.0962%
2007	209	1,612	0.1022%
2008	205	1,616	0.1046%
2009	164	1,940	0.1298%
2010	159	1,927	0.1337%
2011	152	2,017	0.1416%
2012	141	2,248	0.1578%
2013	118	2,637	0.1852%
2014	96	3,061	0.2101%
2015	95	3,196	0.2197%
2016	95	3,129	0.217%
2017	96	3,006	0.2154%
2018	95	2,949	0.2146%
2019	95	2,911	0.215%
2020	103	2,571	0.202%
2021	95	2,525	0.2066%
2022	104	2,652	0.201%

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Data via SSA.gov.

Names Like Vivian

If you like Vivian, you’ll love these other names like Vivian.

What names are diminutives of Vivian?

A diminutive is a name that’s like Vivian sounds, you might also like these names that sound like Vivian, but shorter.

Name	Meaning	Origin
Veta	God's promise; God is my oath; knowledge, wisdom	Indian (Sanskrit)
Vi	Purple; lively	Latin
Viv	Lively	Latin
Viva	Alive	Latin
Vivi	Lively	Latin
Vivvie	A diminutive form of Vivian.

What names are variants of Vivian?

Mix it up with these names that are a variation of the name Vivian.

Name	Meaning	Origin
Bibi	Lady of the house	Persian
Bibiana	Lively	Latin, Spanish
Bibiane	Lively	Spanish
Bibianna	Lively	Spanish
Bibianne	Lively	Latin
Bibyana	Lively	Latin
Vibiana	Lively	Latin
Vivia	Lively	Latin

Viviana	Alive	Italian
Viviane	Lively	Latin
Vivianna	Lively	Latin
Vivianne	Lively	Latin
Vivien	Lively	Latin
Vivienne	Alive	French
Vivyan	Lively	Latin
Vivyana	Lively	Latin
Vivyanne	Lively	Latin
Vyvyan	Lively	Latin
Vyvyana	Lively	Latin
Vyvyanne	Lively	Latin

What names sound like Vivian?

If you like how Vivian sounds, you might also like these names that sound like Vivian.

Name	Meaning	Origin
Favianna		Latin
Fifine	Jehovah increases	Hebrew
Valentina	Strong and healthy	Latin

Valeria	Strength and vigor	Italian
Valerie	Strength and vigor	French
Vera	Truth and faith	Latin
Vevina	Sweet lady	Irish
Victoria	Victory	Latin

What names are similar to Vivian?

Find a name that’s like Vivian, but just a little bit different.

Name	Meaning	Origin
Caroline	Free woman	French
Cora	Maiden	Greek
Edith	Strife for wealth	English
Elspeth	An exotic variant of Elizabeth.	Scottish
Evelyn	Desired one	English
Julia	Youthful and downy	Latin
Lydia	From Lydia	Greek
Maeve	Intoxicating	Irish
Meredith	Great, noted ruler	Welsh
Violet	Violet flower	English

Lists With Vivian

Find inspiration in these baby girl name lists featuring the name Vivian.

Siblings of Vivian

Mamas with kids named Vivian also have kids with these names.

Name	Meaning	Origin	Popularity	Other Gender

Thea	Gift of God	Greek
Watson	Son of Walter	English
Emilia	To rival	Latin
Maren	Star of the sea	Latin
Sabrina	“The siren from the river Severn,” in allusion to a legendary princess.	Celtic

Share Your Thoughts

25 Comments

Tristan Nov 2 at 4:20 am

I chose the name Vivian because it’s unique and not heard of much and it was the name of an aunt I was really close with when I was little until she passed. I think the only thing I regret about her name was not spelling it Vivien instead of -an but that’s alright, she absolutely loves her name and it’s easier for her to spell it that way.

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Emily Aug 27 at 3:14 pm

We chose the name Vivian primarily due to its beautiful meaning of life/lively one, as this pregnancy followed a miscarriage the previous year. As a bonus, her paternal great-grandmother is also named Vivian (Vi), so we also had the joy of carrying on a loved one’s name! ?

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Brandy+Austin Jul 30 at 12:08 pm

Vivian was the name of my grandmother! It’s classic and classy and unique, as well as sentimental and meaningful to our family.

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Valerie Jul 12 at 1:10 pm

Vivian was my great grandmother’s name and we thought it was beautiful as it means “life” and her arrival brought so much life to our family after a tough year

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Brein Jun 8 at 8:52 am

She’s named after her great grandmas. It was a name we talked about but didn’t choose u til she was here and my grandma passed away a month before she was born so her middle name is Ann after my grandma.
I love her name, it’s uncommon, I have no dislikes.

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Vivian Jun 4 at 8:59 pm

My name is Vivian and I love this name. Forever grateful

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Avery Mar 17 at 9:07 am

Vivian Rains was named after my husband’s grandmother and my maiden name. It was a perfect classic name with cute modern nicknames like Viv and Vivi ?

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Amanda Feb 17 at 9:47 am

Our family likes classic names, Vivian called to us while I was pregnant?

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vivian Dec 28 at 3:34 pm

my name is Vivian and absolutely love the the name!

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Rachel Apr 20 at 8:32 am

My husband and I agreed on such a pretty name!

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Brooklyn Nov 22 at 8:02 am

We thought Vivian was an elegant, classy, beautiful name. We also loved the nickname Vivi. Our last name starts with a V and we really love the way the double V name sounds.

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Vivian Aug 4 at 6:30 am

My name is Vivian, am very grateful to my mum for giving me the name Vivian

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- Vivian Dec 20 at 5:16 pm
  
  Same!
  
  Reply
Ashlee Jul 28 at 7:06 pm

Classic, strong name

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Vivian Jan 16 at 7:13 pm

My mother named me after her in a way. Her name is Viviana and mine is Vivian. I have always loved my name and I am very glad to have this name.

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Jocelyn Jan 8 at 11:20 am

We had chosen 3 names as potentials for baby girl, but wanted to see what she looked like before we named her. The whole pregnancy we kept saying Vivian just sounded like a strong name. During birth, specifically pushing her heart rate stayed so strong and she would quickly recover. Because of her strength during birth we decided the name Vivian for best.

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Ann Nov 21 at 1:09 pm

Our neighbor just named her son Vivian. I see that once upon a time that was a boys name but I doubt there are many boys under the age of about 110 with that name today. I hope she used it because she liked Something unusual and not because she already as four boy and was getting tired of farts, burps and belches.

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- Rose Jun 14 at 12:35 pm
  
  I worked with a guy named Viv, in his 40s. (Full name Vivian) He was from England and said it was still used a lot overseas. He was straight, married and had kids.
  
  Reply
Rachel Nov 17 at 2:41 pm

Vivian was my Grandmother’s name. I have always loved that name and knew if I had a girl I would name her Vivian.

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Angela May 21 at 10:34 am

We liked that Vivian was a vintage baby name with a great meaning. I liked that it had my mother and grandfather’s names spelled within it too. Also, we loved the nicknames Viv and Vivi.

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- Vivian Oct 22 at 6:21 pm
  
  I love the Name Vivian it meraba a lot to me so hamble people and respertable one ….
  
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Lindsey Mar 16 at 7:00 am

I just love older names ?

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Mandy Reimer Jan 23 at 8:08 am

She’s actually named after a little purple ghost character from Paper Mario, one of our favourite video games while we were dating. Haha.
We like it because it’s classy and old and we want to bring it back. Vivian is French and means life. Viv la France!

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Melissa Jan 21 at 11:53 pm

Iam very much in love with Vivians name. Her name is from one of my all time favorite movies pretty woman. Vivian is also an old fashion name and blends well with my other to children.

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Michaela west Dec 3 at 12:56 pm

We thought it was a beautiful vintage name that still sounds fairly modern!!! It’s easy to spell and pronounce as well!!!

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