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Home › Baby Names Directory › Vivien

Vivien

♀ Girl

Pronounced VEEV-een /ˈviv.in/Low

Meaning: Alive, lively, livingLow

In 30 seconds: Vivien is a Latin-rooted girl's name meaning 'alive' or 'lively', used widely in French and English forms.
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Origin LowLatin, French, English
MeaningAlive, lively, living
U.S. rank (2025)#1854 ↘ Falling
2025 U.S. births108 girls (0.01% of U.S. girls)
Peak year2014
Total births (all-time)≈ 7,401

Popularity in the U.S. · SSA data

peak 201418852025

U.S. births per year (Social Security Administration, 1880–present). Pink marker = peak year.

SSA data updated May 2026. How we source & verify this data.

History & Origin

The name comes from Latin and carries the sense of being alive, living, and full of liveliness. It passed into French and then English use, where it has long been a graceful feminine choice. The actress Vivien Leigh, who won the Academy Award for Best Actress, gave the spelling lasting visibility in the English-speaking world.

Vivien has a light, bright sound that matches its meaning, and it sits close to the related forms Vivian and Vivienne. Vivien Merchant is another bearer recorded under the name.

Did you know? The meaning attached to Vivien is 'alive, lively, living', drawn from Latin vivus, and that vital, life-affirming idea is what gives the name most of its long-term appeal.
Overall data confidence 55%
Behind the Name - Vivien — etymology, usage, pronunciation, and related formsU.S. Social Security Administration — 2024 popularity rank and count supplied in the batch input CSV

Variations

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Nicknames

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Famous Bearers

  • ★Vivien Leigh (1913–1967)
    Winner of the Academy Award for Best Actress for 'Gone with the Wind / A Streetcar Named Desire' in 1939, 1951.
  • ★Vivien Merchant (1929–1982)
    Female public figure listed on Behind the Name.

If you like Vivien…

Vivian— The standard English form of the same Latin name meaning 'living'.
Vivienne— The French feminine elaboration sharing Vivien's 'alive, lively' sense.
Viviana— A Latinate feminine form built on the same 'living' root.
Vivianne— An ornamented spelling of the same name and meaning.

Explore names like Vivien

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Frequently Asked

What does the name Vivien mean?

Vivien means 'alive, lively, living', from Latin Vivianus (vivus, 'alive'). The form Vivien is the French masculine, also long used as a feminine name in English.

How do you pronounce Vivien?

It's commonly said VEEV-een /ˈviv.in/.

Is Vivien a boy or girl name?

In this batch and in recent U.S. usage data, Vivien is used as a girl name.

How popular is Vivien?

In 2024, Vivien ranked #1721 in the U.S. for girls, with 118 births recorded.

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