Vivian

Latin
"life"

Vivian Origin and Meaning

The name Vivian is a boy's name of Latin origin meaning "life".

Deriving from the Roman cognomen Vivianus, Vivian was originally a masculine name, with Vivien being a feminine soundalike coined by Alfred Lord Tennyson for the Lady of the Lake in his famous poetic adaptation of the legend of King Arthur. It has since become a much more popular choice for girls in the US, but retains a refined British charm which sees it cropping up occasionally for boys in the Telegraph birth announcements.

Fun fact: Vivian is the middle name of Daniel Cleaver, Hugh Grant's rakish character in the Bridget Jones movies.

# 921 in the US

Vivian Rank in US Top 1000

# 939 on Nameberry

Vivian Rank in Nameberry Top 1000

Vivian Popularity

Famous People Named Vivian

  • Vivian Patrick Campbell
    Northern Irish guitarist and co,vocalist of rock bands Def Leppard, Last In Line and Riverdogs
  • Vivian Crawford
    English cricketer
  • Vivian Woodward
    English footballer
  • Vivian Hunter Galbraith
    English historian and professor at Oxford
  • Vivian Bose
    Judge of the Supreme Court of India
  • Vivian Van Damm
    English Impresario of the Windmill Theatre
  • Vivian Frederick Maynard FitzSimons
    South African herpetologist
  • Vivian Ellis
    English musical comedy composer
  • Vivian Fuchs
    English explorer
  • Vivian H. H. Green
    Rector of Lincoln College and Oxford
  • Vivian Blake
    Jamaican politician and Chief Justice of the Bahamas
  • Vivian Naylor
    Leyland, British aristocrat and banker
  • Vivian Bendall
    English Conservative politician
  • Vivian Cook
    English linguist and Professor at Newcastle University
  • Vivian Jackson
    Jamaican reggae musician
  • Vivian de Buffrénil
    French histologist and palaeobiologist
  • Vivian Richards
    Antiguan cricketer and sports commentator
  • Vivian Imerman
    South African businessman and former CEO of Del Monte
  • Vivian Anderson
    English football coach and defender
  • Vivian Harris
    Guyanese boxer

Vivian in Pop Culture

  • Vivian Smith
    Smythe,Smith, character from the Monty Python sketch "Upper Class Twit of the Year"
  • Daniel Vivian Cleaver
    character from book/film Bridget Jones Diary