Vivian

What Vivian means

Possibly “alive”

Early saints' name from Latin Vīviānus, and of its feminine form Vīviāna, probably from vīvus (“alive”).

Source: Wiktionary, “Vivian” (revision 94635102), CC BY-SA 4.0. Quoted from the etymology; we don’t write our own.

How popular is Vivian?

US: Rising: up from #95 in 2015. England & Wales: Steady: #909 in 2015, #834 now.

Biggest US share so far: 1920, when 4,128 girls got the name (#64 that year). First in the US records in 1880.

How common

• About 1 in 478 baby girls in the US in 2025
• About 1 in 5,890 baby girls in England and Wales in 2025

“1 in N” divides by all listed births for that sex. The US list leaves out names given to fewer than 5 babies, and the UK lists leave out names given to 2 or fewer, so the real figure is a little rarer than shown.

Where in the US

Most popular in VT (9.24 per 1,000 girls), NH (7.64 per 1,000 girls), WY (7.4 per 1,000 girls) in 2025.

SSA state data, 2025. Share of all listed girls born in each state.

US vs UK

Vivian is #70 in the US and #834 in England & Wales (2025).

Same sex as this page (girls). SSA (US), ONS (England and Wales), NRS (Scotland).

Boy or girl?

In 2025, 99.9% of US babies named Vivian were girls.

Counts below the publishing threshold (US 5, UK 3) are not included.

How to say it

IPA from Wiktionary.

Other spellings parents chose in 2025

• Vivien108 US · 21 E&W
• Vivianne114 US · 5 E&W
• Viviann35 US
• Viviane23 US

Names that sound the same and differ by a letter or two, with baby counts for the same sex. US and E&W counts.

If you like Vivian

Girls

• Clara#63“bright, shining, clear”^*
• Lucille#237Editor’s note Peaked in the US in 1920, with 7,989 babies; 1,314 in 2025
• Valentina#35Same root as Valentine, meaning “strong, healthy”^*
• Camilla#361Editor’s note Up from #374 in 2015 to #361 in 2025 in the US
• Aurora#15Italian, from Latin Aurōra, meaning “dawn, sunrise”^*
• Luna#27“the moon”^*

For a brother

• Azariah#472“Yah Has Helped”^*
• Roman#42Editor’s note Climbing fast in the US: #102 in 2015, #42 in 2025
• Bennett#40Form of Benedict, meaning “blessed, well spoken of”^*
• Augustus#407“majestic, venerable”^*
• Atticus#281“the Attic, the Athenian, a cognomen”^*
• Leo#19“lion”^*

Picked from the US top 1,000 in 2025: names Wiktionary also files under Latin, whose US popularity since 1990 rose and fell most like Vivian’s. Rank is US 2025.