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Help[Opinions] Thoughts on the name Vivian for a female character?
I really like the name, but I haven't known anyone named Vivian, and the name is masculine in other countries, just like the name Valeriy. So what kind of character would Vivian be?
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I prefer the Vivienne spelling. It's such a beautiful name. I guess I imagine someone very pretty and glamorous bearing this name.
I knew a Vivian! She was a lovely old lady who complimented my witches outfit at Halloween and brought me inside to show her sister (don't worry, we knew them before then, they were our neighbours - by "them" I mean her husband Jack. I don't recall the name of her sister - she was visiting and didn't usually live there.)
I had no idea that the name was even remotely masculine until my adult years when I became fond of the name Vivian and this website told me. I cannot see it any more masculine than I can see Joshua being feminine, personally
I had no idea that the name was even remotely masculine until my adult years when I became fond of the name Vivian and this website told me. I cannot see it any more masculine than I can see Joshua being feminine, personally
This message was edited 4/20/2025, 10:36 PM
Vivian is really pretty! I've met a few people with this name. I also know a Viviana.
I like Vivian. I like most forms of it actually.
Vivian is feisty, sensible and no-nonsense. She's at least spiritually middle age with fantastic huge hair, fantastic huge perfume, and maybe a bold pants-suit. She's 80s, in a timeless way, like the way all us post-80s think about the 80s, especially us who didn't live through it. Vivian is the kinda woman you want in your corner in a fight, she's sassy, savage, yes, even savvy.
Viv goes in many different directions. I could see a feisty bouffant Viv, but also a slightly huffy, aloof counter-culture Viv with thrift-store clothes and the worst stinker attitude, or a cute, retiring, dungarees-wearing Viv with bad hair, bad glasses, and a badly behaved cat, whose whole world is her little vegetable plot or her failing artsy cafe or dusty second-hand bookstore.
And for what it's worth...
Vivienne is all sleek and classy, elegant, a bit aloof and cut-glass or a bit fatale. That said, one of the coolest ladies I ever met was called Vivienne, she was fantastic and I still regret we fell out of contact.
Viviana is... I've known a few Vivianas. They've all been tall, robust Eastern European women who are, and both that I became friends with are quiet until you know them, and very sweet and laid-back when you do. I find Viviana more earthy and rustic, quite gentle, cottage-y and warm, sort of unrefined but wholesome.
Viviette is spiky, sassy and sharp, full of points and spikes. I picture a petite woman with sharp edges, sharp facial features and blunt cut short dark hair, quick verbally, mentally and physically, full of quick motions and verbal jabs. Viviette feels either perky bordering on antagonistic or fiesty and sharp, it has this edge to it. And it does feel retro, but in a kind of wink-and-nod way, the kind of name someone'd pick as a nickname to go with their massive eyeliner and blunt bob.
Vivian is feisty, sensible and no-nonsense. She's at least spiritually middle age with fantastic huge hair, fantastic huge perfume, and maybe a bold pants-suit. She's 80s, in a timeless way, like the way all us post-80s think about the 80s, especially us who didn't live through it. Vivian is the kinda woman you want in your corner in a fight, she's sassy, savage, yes, even savvy.
Viv goes in many different directions. I could see a feisty bouffant Viv, but also a slightly huffy, aloof counter-culture Viv with thrift-store clothes and the worst stinker attitude, or a cute, retiring, dungarees-wearing Viv with bad hair, bad glasses, and a badly behaved cat, whose whole world is her little vegetable plot or her failing artsy cafe or dusty second-hand bookstore.
And for what it's worth...
Vivienne is all sleek and classy, elegant, a bit aloof and cut-glass or a bit fatale. That said, one of the coolest ladies I ever met was called Vivienne, she was fantastic and I still regret we fell out of contact.
Viviana is... I've known a few Vivianas. They've all been tall, robust Eastern European women who are, and both that I became friends with are quiet until you know them, and very sweet and laid-back when you do. I find Viviana more earthy and rustic, quite gentle, cottage-y and warm, sort of unrefined but wholesome.
Viviette is spiky, sassy and sharp, full of points and spikes. I picture a petite woman with sharp edges, sharp facial features and blunt cut short dark hair, quick verbally, mentally and physically, full of quick motions and verbal jabs. Viviette feels either perky bordering on antagonistic or fiesty and sharp, it has this edge to it. And it does feel retro, but in a kind of wink-and-nod way, the kind of name someone'd pick as a nickname to go with their massive eyeliner and blunt bob.
I prefer it for a girl. I typically envision an older woman named this as it's seen as more on the dates side. However I think it is having a bit of a resurgence. I don't care for it on a male whatsoever and it's unlikely that I'm ever going to encounter one where I'm from, young or old.
This message was edited 4/15/2025, 1:08 PM
Traditionally, Vivian was a male name and Vivien or Vivienne was female. That's what I expect when I see any of the versions. I've never met a male Vivian, but there have been a few Vivien people in my life. I like Vivien much better than the -enne French version.
I've met a male Vivian and a female Vivian.
Vivian (f) was my roommate/friend's mom. She lived in South Carolina, and I think she'd be in her 60s now. She disliked me (I overheard her telling my friend why, and it mostly seemed because I was an introvert although she didn't say it that nicely), so I have the impression she was judgemental/harsh. Seperate from that it seems kind of like a flapper name...assertive, jazzy, refined but spiky...the meaning is pleasant, and the Viv part reminds me of vivid/vivacious.
The male Vivian I met was younger (I'd guess late 20s to mid 30s; he lives in Virginia, has a toddler, seemed polite and a bit goofy).
I prefer Viviana / Vivienne for women and Vivian as a guy name.
Vivian (f) was my roommate/friend's mom. She lived in South Carolina, and I think she'd be in her 60s now. She disliked me (I overheard her telling my friend why, and it mostly seemed because I was an introvert although she didn't say it that nicely), so I have the impression she was judgemental/harsh. Seperate from that it seems kind of like a flapper name...assertive, jazzy, refined but spiky...the meaning is pleasant, and the Viv part reminds me of vivid/vivacious.
The male Vivian I met was younger (I'd guess late 20s to mid 30s; he lives in Virginia, has a toddler, seemed polite and a bit goofy).
I prefer Viviana / Vivienne for women and Vivian as a guy name.
This message was edited 4/15/2025, 12:29 PM