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BabyNames
Girl name#180 of girl names

Vivian

Pronounced V IH1 V IY0 AH0 N (ARPABET)

  • 3 syllables
  • Peaked 1920
  • 145 years in use
  • 1 spelling
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How popular is Vivian?

Vivian is a girls' name, and has been in the record since the data starts in 1880. It has been given to 256,877 children — the 180th most common girls' name on record.

It peaked in 1920, went quiet for most of a century, and is climbing again. Its best single year was 1920, when 4,277 children were given it.

Vivien is counted with it here, since the two are pronounced identically.

01,2502,5003,7505,00018901920195019802010
1920Girls: 4,277Boys: 78

Spelling variants

These spellings sound identical to Vivian and are counted together with it, which is why the totals here are higher than a single-spelling count.

  • Vivien

Characteristics

  • Alliterative
  • 3 syllables
Phonetic detail
Pronunciations:
V IH1 V IY0 AH0 N
Stress pattern:
100
Syllables:
3

Stress digits mark unstressed (0), primary (1) and secondary (2) syllables.

Names like Vivian

Same first letter and syllable count, peaking around the same time.

Sibling names for Vivian

Names from the same era with a matching rhythm but a different initial.

Frequently asked questions

How popular is the name Vivian?
Vivian ranks 180th among girls' names in US records, with 256,877 births since 1880. Over the past decade it accounts for 43,471.
Is Vivian a unisex name?
No. Vivian is recorded almost entirely as a girls' name; births to the other gender are too few to register as a share.
When was Vivian most popular?
1920, when 4,277 children were given the name. It has been in use for 145 years and is still recorded as of 2024.
How else is Vivian spelled?
Vivien. All of these sound the same and are counted together in the totals on this page.