Namebino · Girl names · Boy names
Girl's name · #72 in the US (2025) · Comeback
Vivian was #64 in 1920, slipped to #536 by 1981, and has climbed back to #72 today. About 228,000 girls have carried it since 1880. In all that time it has never once missed a year of the national records.
Actress Vivien Leigh, born Vivian Mary Hartley, won the Best Actress Oscar for Gone with the Wind in 1940. US births of Vivian rose from 1,868 in 1939 to 2,261 in 1940, interrupting a long decline. The spelling Vivien also rose, from 52 to 148 births.
Its relative popularity was strongest in the South in the 1940s and 1950s, and is strongest in the Midwest in 2020–2025.
Appears in 2020-2025 birth records of 51 states. See the full state-by-state map on this page.
See how Vivian ranks in other countries and regions.
#37 in Finland (Finnish-sp.) (2025) · #732 in Ecuador (2025) · #843 in England & Wales (2025) · #845 in Netherlands (2025) · #1,004 in Sweden (2025) · #1,113 in Ireland (2025) · #1,160 in Switzerland (2025) · #1,295 in Austria (2025) · #237 in Canada (2024).
Among 679 notable people named Vivian:
Entertainers appear 1.7× more often than among typical names — e.g. Vivian Vance, American actress (1909–1979).
Similar names: Viviana · Clara · Violet · Ruby · Lillian · Josephine
Browse more girl names — popularity, trends and eras for 5,700+ American names, free.