Vivian (and variants such as Vivien and Vivienne) is a

given name A given name (also known as a forename or first name) is the part of a personal name quoted in that identifies a person, potentially with a middle name as well, and differentiates that person from the other members of a group (typically a f ...

, and less often a

surname In many societies, a surname, family name, or last name is the mostly hereditary portion of one's personal name that indicates one's family. It is typically combined with a given name to form the full name of a person, although several give ...

, derived from a Latin name of the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

period, masculine '' Vivianus'' and feminine '' Viviana'', which survived into modern use because it is the name of two early Christian female martyrs as well as of a male saint and bishop.

History and variants

The Latin name Vivianus is recorded from the 1st century. It is ultimately related to the adjective ''vivus'' "alive", but it is formed from the compound form ''vivi-'' and the adjectival suffix used to form ''

cognomina A ''cognomen'' (; : ''cognomina''; from ''co-'' "together with" and ''(g)nomen'' "name") was the third name of a citizen of ancient Rome, under Roman naming conventions. Initially, it was a nickname, but lost that purpose when it became hereditar ...

''. The latinate given name Vivianus was of limited popularity in the medieval period in reference to Saint Vivianus, a 5th-century bishop of Saintes; the feminine name was that of Saint Viviana (Bibiana), a 4th-century martyr whose veneration in Rome is ascertained for the 5th century. In

Arthurian legend The Matter of Britain (; ; ; ) is the body of medieval literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and Brittany and the legendary kings and heroes associated with it, particularly King Arthur. The 12th-century writer Geoffr ...

, Vivian in its various spellings is one of the names of the

Lady of the Lake The Lady of the Lake (, , , , ) is a title used by multiple characters in the Matter of Britain, the body of medieval literature and mythology associated with the legend of King Arthur. As either actually fairy or fairy-like yet human enchantres ...

. The name was brought to England with the Norman invasion, and is occasionally recorded in England in the 12th and 13th centuries. The masculine given name appears with greater frequency in the

early modern period The early modern period is a Periodization, historical period that is defined either as part of or as immediately preceding the modern period, with divisions based primarily on the history of Europe and the broader concept of modernity. There i ...

. The spelling Vivian was historically used only as a masculine name, and is still used as such in the UK with this spelling, but in the 19th century was also increasingly given to girls and thus evolved into a

unisex name A unisex name (also known as an epicene name, a gender-neutral name or an androgynous name) is a given name that is not gender-specific. Unisex names are common in the English-speaking world, especially in the United States. By contrast, some co ...

; by the mid 20th century, it has been almost exclusively given as a feminine name in the United States. Use of Vivian as a feminine name peaked in popularity in the United States in 1920 at rank 64, but declined in the second half of the 20th century, falling below rank 500 in the 1980s. Its popularity has again picked up somewhat since the 1990s, as of 2012 having attained rank 140. Variants of the feminine name include Viviana, Viviane, and Vivienne. The French feminine spelling Vivienne in the United States rose sharply in recent years from below rank 1,000 (no statistical record) to rank 322 in the period 2009–2012. The Italian or Latin form ''Viviana'' has enjoyed some popularity since the 1990s, reaching rank 322 in 2000. The spelling Vivien is the French masculine form, but in English speaking countries it has long been used as a feminine form, due to its appearance as the name of the

Arthurian According to legends, King Arthur (; ; ; ) was a king of Britain. He is a folk hero and a central figure in the medieval literary tradition known as the Matter of Britain. In Welsh sources, Arthur is portrayed as a leader of the post-Ro ...

Tennyson Alfred Tennyson, 1st Baron Tennyson (; 6 August 1809 – 6 October 1892) was an English poet. He was the Poet Laureate of the United Kingdom, Poet Laureate during much of Queen Victoria's reign. In 1829, Tennyson was awarded the Chancellor's ...

's '' Idylls of the King'' of 1859."Vivien" at Behind the Name
/ref> For the masculine name, the variant Vyvyan has sometimes been used, based on the Cornish surname itself derived from the given name. The intermediary form Vyvian is also occasionally found. The Gaelic name

Ninian Ninian is a Christian saint, first mentioned in the 8th century as being an early missionary among the Pictish peoples of what is now Scotland. For this reason, he is known as the Apostle to the Southern Picts, and there are numerous dedicatio ...

has sometimes been identified as a corruption of Vivian, but it is now considered more likely derived from Welsh Nynniaw, which is itself of uncertain origin, but likely renders

Nennius Nennius – or Nemnius or Nemnivus – was a Welsh monk of the 9th century. He has traditionally been attributed with the authorship of the ''Historia Brittonum'', based on the prologue affixed to that work. This attribution is widely considered ...

. Bébinn is an unrelated, genuinely Gaelic name which has on occasion been rendered as Vivian in English.

As a surname

The given name ''Vivian'' was introduced to

Norman England The territory today known as England became inhabited more than 800,000 years ago, as the discovery of stone tools and footprints at Happisburgh in Norfolk have indicated.; "Earliest footprints outside Africa discovered in Norfolk" (2014). B ...

in the 11th or 12th century and over time gave rise to a variety of British surnames, including Videan, Vidgen, Vidgeon, Fiddian, Fidgeon, Phythian, and Phethean. The Vyvyan family has been a prominent family of Cornwall since the 16th century. The Vyvyan baronetcy was created in the

Baronetage of England Baronets are hereditary titles awarded by the Crown. The current baronetage of the United Kingdom has replaced the earlier, existing baronetages of England, Nova Scotia, Ireland and Great Britain. To be recognised as a baronet, it is necessary ...

for Sir Richard Vyvyan in 1645. Baron Vivian was created in the Peerage of the United Kingdom in 1841. Notable bearers of the surname include: * C. T. Vivian (1924–2020), American minister and author * Daniel Vivian (born 1999), Spanish footballer * Herbert Vivian (1865-1940), British journalist and leader of the Neo-Jacobite Revival * Ivor Vivian (born 1933), Australian politician * Jennifer Vyvyan (1925-1974) English classical soprano singer *

John Lambrick Vivian Lieutenant-Colonel John Lambrick Vivian (1830–1896), Inspector of Militia and Her Majesty's Superintendent of Police and Police Magistrate for St Kitts, West Indies, was an English genealogist and historian. He edited editions of the Heraldic V ...

(1830–1896), genealogist of Devon and Cornwall *

Joseph Vivien Joseph Vivien (1657 – 5 December 1735) was a French painter from Lyon. He left Lyon for Paris at the age of twenty and found employment in the large atelier of Charles Le Brun, the equivalent of an academy. He was received in the Académie ...

(1657–1735), French painter * Renée Vivien (1877–1909), British poet in the French language * Weston E. Vivian (1924–2020), American politician * William Vyvyan, 14th-century English MP

List of individuals with the name

Masculine given name

Vivian

* Vivian Anderson (born 1956), English football coach and defender * Vivian Balakrishnan (born 1961), Singaporean politician * Vivian Bendall (born 1938), English Conservative politician *

Vivian Blake Vivian Blake (11 May 1956 – 21 March 2010) was a Jamaican drug lord, drug kingpin who founded and operated the American operations of the Jamaican Shower Posse. Background Blake was born to a poor family in West Kingston, Jamaica, Kingst ...

(1956–2010), Jamaican criminal * Vivian Blake (politician) (1921–2000), Jamaican politician and chief justice of the Bahamas * Vivian Bose (1891–1983), judge of the Supreme Court of India * Vivian de Buffrénil (born 1950), French histologist and palaeobiologist *

Vivian Campbell Vivian Patrick Campbell (born 25 August 1962) is a Northern Irish musician. He came to prominence in the early 1980s as the guitarist of Dio. He has also been the guitarist of Def Leppard since 1992 (replacing Steve Clark after his death). C ...

(born 1962), Northern Irish heavy metal guitarist * Vivian Cook (linguist) (1940–2021), English linguist and professor of Applied Linguistics at Newcastle University * Vivian Crawford (1879–1922), English first-class cricketer * Vivian Dsena (born 1988), Indian TV actor * Vivian Ellis (1904–1996), English musical comedy composer * Vivian Frederick Maynard FitzSimons (1901–1975), South African herpetologist * Sir Vivian Fuchs (1908–1999), English explorer to first cross Antarctica overland * Vivian Hunter Galbraith (1889–1976), English historian and Regius Professor of Modern History at Oxford University, Oxford * Vivian H. H. Green (1915–2005), rector of Lincoln College, Oxford, and inspiration for John le Carré's character George Smiley * Vivian Harris (born 1978), Guyanese boxer * Vivian Wilson Henderson (1923–1976), American educator and human rights activist * Vivian Imerman (born 1955), South African businessman and former CEO of Del Monte Foods * Vivian Jackson (1946–2010), Jamaican reggae musician also known as Yabby You * Clive Vivian Leopold James (Clive James, 1939–2019), Australian author * Sir Vivian Naylor-Leyland, 3rd Baronet (1924–1987), British aristocrat and banker * Viv Prince (born 1941), English drummer with the band

Pretty Things Pretty Things were an English Rock music, rock band formed in September 1963 in Sidcup, Kent, taking their name from Bo Diddley's 1955 song "Pretty Thing", and active in their first incarnation until 1971. They released five studio albums, i ...

* Sir Viv Richards (born 1952), Antiguan cricketer and sports commentator * Vivian Roy Stanley Schokman (1887-1953), Sri Lankan Burgher politician and physician * Major General Vivian Street (1912–1970), British army officer, also known for his charitable work, particularly as chairman of the

Save the Children The Save the Children Fund, commonly known as Save the Children, is an international non-governmental organization. It was founded in the UK in 1919; its goal is to improve the lives of children worldwide. The organization raises money to imp ...

fund * Vivian Van Damm (1895–1960), English impresario of the Windmill Theatre, London * Vivian Wilson (1899–1978), New Zealand rugby union player * Vivian Wineman (born 1950), commercial lawyer, president of the

Board of Deputies of British Jews The Board of Deputies of British Jews, commonly referred to as the Board of Deputies, is the largest and second oldest Jewish communal organisation in the United Kingdom, after the Initiation Society which was founded in 1745. Established in 17 ...

2009–2015 * Vivian Woodward (1879–1954), English centre forward footballer

Vivien

* Vivien Thomas (1910–1985), American surgical technician

Vivion

* Vivion de Valera (1910–1982), Irish politician, eldest son of

Éamon de Valera Éamon de Valera (; ; first registered as George de Valero; changed some time before 1901 to Edward de Valera; 14 October 1882 – 29 August 1975) was an American-born Irish statesman and political leader. He served as the 3rd President of Ire ...

& Sinéad de Valera.

Vyvyan

* Vyvyan Adams (1900–1951), British Conservative Party politician * Vyvyan Donnithorne (1886–1968), British Anglican missionary to China *

Vyvyan Evans Vyvyan Evans (born 23 September 1968) is a British cognitive linguist, digital communication technologist, popular science author, science fiction author and public intellectual. He has published fifteen books, both non-fiction and fiction. He ...

, professor of Linguistics * Vyvyan Evelegh (1898–1958), British Army Second World War major-general * Vyvyan Holland (1886–1967), English author/translator, second son of Oscar Wilde * Vyvyan Holt (1896–1960), British soldier, diplomat, and Oriental scholar * Vyvyan Pope (1891–1941), British Army Second World War lieutenant-general

Vyvian

* Vyvian Pike (born 1969), English cricketer

Stage name or nickname

*"Vivian", a nickname given to Chaim Herzog in the 1940s *

Vivian Stanshall Vivian Stanshall (born Victor Anthony Stanshall; 21 March 1943 – 5 March 1995) was an English singer-songwriter, musician, author, poet and wit, best known for his work with the Bonzo Dog Doo-Dah Band, for his exploration of the British uppe ...

, stage name of Victor Anthony Stanshall (1943–1995), English comedic musician * The Vivienne (1992–2025), stage name of James Lee Williams, British drag queen

Feminine given name

Late antiquity

The spelling of these names may differ depending on tradition. *

Saint Vibiana Saint Vibiana is a third-century Virgin (title)#Virgin martyrs, virgin martyr of the Roman Catholic Church. She is the Patron saint, patroness of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles, Archdiocese of Los Angeles. Her liturgical feast day ...

(3rd century) * Saint Vivian (4th century)

Vivian

* Vivian Inez Archibald (born 1945), British Virgin Islander politician * Vivian Bang (born 1983), American actress * Vivian Barbot (born 1941), Canadian politician * Vivian Cheruiyot (born 1983), Kenyan long-distance runner * Vivian Chukwuemeka (born 1975), Nigerian shot putter * Vivian Dandridge (1921–1991), American actress * Vivian Fine (1913–2000), American composer * Vivian Flowers (born c. 1969), American politician * Vivian Garrison (1933–2013), American applied medical anthropologist * Vivian Gornick (born 1935), American author * Vivian Green (born 1979), American R&B singer * Vivian Holt (1885–1945), American singer * Vivian Ikechukwu (born 1997), Nigerian footballer *

Vivi Janiss Vivi Janis (born Vivian Audrey Jamison; May 29, 1911 – September 7, 1988) was an American actress, known for such films as ''The Phantom from 10,000 Leagues'' (1955), ''Man on the Prowl (film), Man on the Prowl'' (1957), and ''First, You Cry'' ...

(1911–1988), American actress * Vivian Annabelle Johnson (1912–1985), American physicist * Vivian Joseph (born 1948), American figure skater * Vivian Kong (born 1994), Hong Kong fencer * Vivian Kubrick (born 1960), American-born English filmmaker and composer * Vivian Lau (born 1979), Hong Kong boccia player * Vivian Maier (1926–2009), American photographer * Vivian Nouri (born 1993), known professionally as Nouri, New Zealand recording artist of Kurdish descent * Vivian Oparah (born 1996), British actress * Vivian Schuyler Key (1905–1990), American artist, designer * Vivian Silver (1949–2023), Canadian-Israeli peace activist * Vivian Blanche Small (1875-1946), president, Lake Erie College *

Vivian Vance Vivian Vance (born Vivian Roberta Jones; July 26, 1909 – August 17, 1979) was an American actress best known for playing landlady Ethel Mertz on the sitcom ''I Love Lucy'' (1951–1957), for which she won the 1953 Primetime Emmy Award for Outs ...

(1909–1979), American actress * Vivian Wilson (born 2004), eldest living child of

Elon Musk Elon Reeve Musk ( ; born June 28, 1971) is a businessman. He is known for his leadership of Tesla, SpaceX, X (formerly Twitter), and the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). Musk has been considered the wealthiest person in th ...

and Justine Wilson

Vivien

* Vivien Bishop (born 1945), New Zealand painter * Vivien Cardone (born 1993), American actress *

Vivien Duffield Dame Vivien Louise Duffield, (née Clore; born 26 March 1946) is an English philanthropist. Life and career Vivien Louise Clore was born to Jewish parents. Her father was millionaire businessman and philanthropist Sir Charles Clore and her m ...

(born 1946), British philanthropist * Vivien Hailstone (1913–2000), Native American designer and educator * Vivien Kirk, New Zealand mathematician * Vivien Knight (1953–2009), British art historian and gallerist *

Vivien Leigh Vivien Leigh ( ; born Vivian Mary Hartley; 5 November 1913 – 8 July 1967), styled as Lady Olivier after 1947, was a British actress. After completing her drama school education, Leigh appeared in small roles in four films in 1935 and progress ...

, born Vivian Mary Hartley (1913–1967), English Academy Award-winning actress * Vivien Neves (1947–2002), British glamour model * Vivien Sansour (born 1978), Palestinian visual artist

Viviane

* Viv Albertine (born 1954), British guitarist, songwriter and author * Viviane Araújo (born 1986), Brazilian mixed martial artist * Viviane Bampassy, Senegalese politician * Viviane Biviga, Gabonese politician * Vivi Fernandez (born 1977), Brazilian model * Viviane Hagner (born 1977), German violinist * Viviane Ndour, Senegalese singer * Viviane Nicaise (born 1952), Belgian cartoonist and colorist * Viviane Romance (1912–1991), French actress

Vivianne

* Vivianne Blanlot (born 1956), Chilean economist and politician * Vivianne Crowley, English author, university lecturer, psychologist, and teacher of the Wiccan religion * Vivianne Fock Tave, Seychellois diplomat *

Vivianne Miedema Anna Margaretha Marina Astrid "Vivianne" Miedema (; born 15 July 1996) is a Dutch professional association football, footballer who plays as a forward (association football), forward for FA Women's Super League, Women's Super League club Manches ...

(born 1996), Dutch forward footballer * Vivianne Pasmanter (born 1971), Brazilian actress * Viviane Ventura, Mother of Sheherazade Goldsmith and author

Vivienne

* Vivienne Anderson, New Zealand professor of education * Vivienne Boyd (1926–2011), New Zealand politician * Vivienne Binns (born 1940), Australian artist * Vivienne Chandler (1947–2013), French actress and photographer * Vivienne Faull (born 1955), British Anglican bishop and Lord Spiritual * Vivienne Goonewardene (1916–1996), Sri Lankan politician * Vivienne Newton Gray (1917–1988), American educator in Liberia * Vivienne Haigh-Wood Eliot (1888–1947), first wife of poet and writer

T. S. Eliot Thomas Stearns Eliot (26 September 18884 January 1965) was a poet, essayist and playwright.Bush, Ronald. "T. S. Eliot's Life and Career", in John A Garraty and Mark C. Carnes (eds), ''American National Biography''. New York: Oxford University ...

* Vivienne Malone-Mayes (1932–1995), American mathematician and professor *

Vivienne Medrano Vivienne Medrano (born October 28, 1992), also known by her online alias VivziePop, is an American YouTuber, animator, writer, director, producer, and voice actress. She is best known as the creator of the musical television series ''Hazbin Hotel ...

(born 1992), Salvadorian American animator, illustrator, comic creator, and voice actress * Vivienne Ming, American theoretical neuroscientist and artificial intelligence expert * Vivienne Osborne (1896–1961), American stage and film actress *

Vivienne Vivian (and variants such as Vivien and Vivienne) is a given name, and less often a surname, derived from a Latin name of the Roman Empire period, masculine '' Vivianus'' and feminine '' Viviana'', which survived into modern use because it is the ...

(1889–1982), British photographer and singer * Vivienne Pinay, Filipino-American drag queen * Vivienne Roumani (born 1950), Libyan filmmaker * Vivienne Segal (1897–1992) American actress * Vivienne de Silva Boralessa (1930–2017), Sri Lankan singer * Vivienne Spence (born 1965), Jamaican track and field athlete * Vivienne Trumpy (1917–1975), stage name Vivi Gioi, Italian actress * Vivienne de Watteville (1900–1957), United Kingdom author * Vivienne Westwood (1941–2022), English fashion designer

Vyvienne

* Vyvienne Long, Irish musician

Vyvyan

* Vyvyan Lorrayne, South African ballerina

Vyvyane

* Vyvyane Loh, Chinese ''Hui-Shien'', Malaysian-American novelist, choreographer, and physician

Hypocoristic Vivi (used as given name in Scandinavia)

Vivi Bach Vivi Bach (3 September 1939 – 22 April 2013) was a Danish film actress. She appeared in 48 films between 1958 and 1974. Bach was born as Vivi Bak in Copenhagen, Denmark, and died on Ibiza, Spain, where she lived with her husband, the Aust ...

(1939–2013), Danish actress and singer * Vivi Flindt (born 1943), Danish ballerina * Vivi Friedman (1967–2012), Finnish film director * Vivi Krogh (1919–2014), Norwegian anti-immigration activist

As a pseudonym or adopted name

* Vivian Chow (born 1967), Hong Kong singer and actress *

Vivian Hsu Vivian Hsu (; ; born March 19, 1975) is a Taiwanese actress, model, and singer. In 1990, at 15, she won first place in a talent show in Taiwan and formed Girl's Team (1991–1993). At 19, she moved her career to Japan, where she became active ...

(born 1975), Taiwanese singer, actress and model * Vivienne Poy (born 1941), politician * Vivienne Tam (born 1957), Hong Kong fashion designer * Vivean Gray, British TV and film actress (adopted name of Jean Vivra Gray)

Others

* Vivienne Mort, Ukrainian indie rock band

Fictional characters

* Vivien, the

, in Tennyson's ''Idylls of the King'' (1859) and elsewhere * Vivian Kudo (Yukiko Kudo), in Manga series ''Case Closed'' * Vivian Grey, hero of Benjamin Disraeli's eponymous first novel, published in 1826 * Vivien de Monbranc, hero of a 12th-century French ''chanson de geste'' * Vivian Alamain, on the American soap opera ''Days of Our Lives'' *Vivian Dugger, cowardly banker and strip club enthusiast, '' Fargo (season 5)'' *Vivien Harmon, one of the main characters in the American TV show ''

American Horror Story ''American Horror Story'' (''AHS'') is an American horror film, horror anthology series, anthology television series created by Ryan Murphy (producer), Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk for the Cable television, cable network FX (TV channel), FX. Th ...

'' *Vivian Volkoff, daughter of the main antagonist of ''

Chuck Chuck () is a masculine given name or a nickname for Charles or Charlie. It may refer to: People Arts and entertainment * Chuck Alaimo, American saxophonist, leader of the Chuck Alaimo Quartet * Chuck Barris (1929–2017), American TV produce ...

s season four *Vivian Joan Abbot Walker, one of the main characters of the novel '' Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood'' (1996) by Rebecca Wells *Vyvyan Basterd, character in the British comedy series '' The Young Ones'' *Vivian Banshee, character in the 2024 Videogame ''

Zenless Zone Zero ''Zenless Zone Zero'' is a free-to-play action role-playing game developed and published by miHoYo (with publishing outside mainland China under HoYoverse, Cognosphere, d/b/a ''HoYoverse''). The game was released on Windows, iOS, Android (oper ...

'' *Vivian Ward, the title character in the film ''

Pretty Woman ''Pretty Woman'' is a 1990 American romantic comedy film directed by Garry Marshall and written by J. F. Lawton. The film stars Richard Gere and Julia Roberts, and features Héctor Elizondo, Ralph Bellamy (in his final performance), ...

'' (1990) *Vivian Banks, or "Aunt Viv" character in the American comedy series ''

The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' is an American television sitcom created by Andy and Susan Borowitz that aired on NBC from September 10, 1990, to May 20, 1996. The series stars Will Smith as a fictionalized version of himself, a street-smart ...

'' *Vivian Sternwood, General Sternwood's oldest daughter and a key figure in Raymond Chandler's crime novel '' The Big Sleep'' (1939) *Vivian Smith-Smythe-Smith, a character from the Monty Python sketch " Upper Class Twit of the Year" *

, a character from the video game ''Dragon Age: Inquisition'' who can be recruited as a party member *Princess Vivian, from the American animated television series ''

Sofia the First ''Sofia the First'' is an American animated fantasy children's television series created and developed by Craig Gerber (creator), Craig Gerber for Disney Television Animation and Disney Jr. The series follows a young peasant girl named Sofia, ...

''; first appeared in ''The Shy Princess'' *Vyvyan Ayrs, a famous but reclusive male composer in David Mitchell's novel '' Cloud Atlas'' (2004) * Vivian (Paper Mario), one of the player's partners in the role-playing video game ''Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door'' *Vivienne Deering, a character in British police drama '' No Offence'' *Vivian "Viv", a supporting character in Freeform's canceled show '' Siren'' *Vivian "Viv" Turner, Timmy Turner's cousin, and the main protagonist in '' The Fairly OddParents: Fairly Odder'' *Vivien Reid, a character in the card game ''Magic: the Gathering''.

References

{{Given name English feminine given names English masculine given names English unisex given names English-language masculine given names English-language unisex given names Feminine given names Masculine given names