Explore the Family Name Vivian

The meaning of Vivian

1. English: from the Old French and Middle English personal name Vivian, Vivien, from Latin Vivianus (derivative of vivus ‘living’), the name of a 5th-century Christian martyr. As a personal name its comparative rarity in medieval England gave it a distinctiveness that encouraged its use as a surname. Its pronunciation appears to have caused difficulty and it is found in a large variety of forms, not all of which have survived. Developments include the interchange of initial V and F, the interchange of intervocalic v and th, and the further interchange of th and d; thus Vivian became Fivian, which became Fithian, which became Fidian. See also Fithen. 2. French: mainly southern variant of the personal name Vivien (see 1 above). 3. Spanish and Galician (Vivián): from the personal name Vivián (see 1 above). Compare Bibian. History: This surname (see 2 above) is listed in the (US) National Huguenot Society’s register of qualified Huguenot ancestors.

Dictionary of American Family Names, 2nd edition, © Oxford University Press, 2022.

How common is the last name Vivian in the United States?

Based on the Decennial U.S. Census data, the surname Vivian has seen a slight decrease in popularity over the last decade. In 2000, Vivian ranked 11,070th most popular surname and dropped to 11,719th place by 2010, a decrease of about 5.86%. However, the overall count of people with the surname Vivian slightly increased from 2,635 in 2000 to 2,674 in 2010, a growth of 1.48%. Despite this increase in numbers, the proportion of people named Vivian per 100k decreased by 7.14% over the same period.

20002010Change
Rank#11,070#11,719-5.86%
Count2,6352,6741.48%
Proportion per 100k0.980.91-7.14%

Race and Ethnicity of people with the last name Vivian

From an ethnicity perspective, the distribution of ethnic identities associated with the surname Vivian also changed between 2000 and 2010, according to Decennial U.S. Census data. The percentage of Asian/Pacific Islander and Hispanic individuals with this surname saw significant increases, rising by 88.89% and 28.63%, respectively. Those identifying as Two or more races and Black also experienced modest increases of 15.04% and 2.83%, respectively. Meanwhile, the proportion of White individuals with the surname Vivian declined by 6.31%, whereas those identified as American Indian and Alaskan Native dropped dramatically by 61.76%.

20002010Change
White76.96%72.1%-6.31%
Hispanic14.04%18.06%28.63%
Black6%6.17%2.83%
Asian/Pacific Islander0.99%1.87%88.89%
Two or More Races1.33%1.53%15.04%
American Indian and Alaskan Native0.68%0.26%-61.76%

Vivian ancestry composition

23andMe computes an ancestry breakdown for each customer. People may have ancestry from just one population or they may have ancestry from several populations. The most commonly-observed ancestry found in people with the surname Vivian is British & Irish, which comprises 50.1% of all ancestry found in people with the surname. The next two most common ancestries are French & German (18.7%) and Eastern European (4.5%). Additional ancestries include Italian, Spanish & Portuguese, Scandinavian, Nigerian, and Korean.

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ANCESTRY BREAKDOWNCOMPOSITION
British & Irish50.1%
French & German18.7%
Eastern European4.5%
Other26.7%
Vivian

Possible origins of the surname Vivian

Your DNA provides clues about where your recent ancestors may have lived. Having many distant relatives in the same location suggests that you may all share common ancestry there. Locations with many distant relatives can also be places where people have migrated recently, such as large cities. If a large number of individuals who share your surname have distant relatives in a specific area, it could indicate a connection between your surname and that location, stemming from either recent ancestral ties or migration.

Based on 23andMe data, people with last name Vivian have recent ancestry locations all within the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.

RECENT ANCESTRY LocationPercentage
Merseyside, United Kingdom83.30%
Greater Manchester, United Kingdom83.30%
Greater London, United Kingdom83.30%
Glasgow City, United Kingdom83.30%
West Yorkshire, United Kingdom82.10%

What Vivian haplogroups can tell you

Haplogroups are genetic population groups that share a common ancestor on either your paternal or maternal line. These paternal and maternal haplogroups shed light on your genetic ancestry and help tell the story of your family.

The top paternal haplogroup of people with the surname Vivian is O-F2415, which is predominantly found among people with East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry. Haplogroup O-F2415 is descended from haplogroup O-M1359. Other common haplogroups include E-M183 and O-F2859, which are predominantly found among people with European and East Asian & Indigenous American ancestry.

The most common maternal haplogroups of people with Vivian surname are: H1, N, H. These most commonly trace back to individuals of European ancestry.

vivianPaternal Haplogroup Origins O-M1359
Paternal Haplo Image

Your paternal lineage may be linked to the Cham

One of the many populations harboring members of haplogroup O1b1a1a1a1 is the Cham ethnic group, a group of people who speak Austronesian languages in Mainland Southeast Asia. Austronesian languages make up a language family that is extremely large and widespread, comprising over 350 million people on islands such as Madagascar, Easter Island, and many others. However, Austronesian languages are less common on mainland Asia, with a notable exception being the Chamic language. Research suggests that ancestors of the Cham people migrated from Southeast Asian islands to the mainland around the year 500 BCE, and that early Cham populations quickly began mixing with indigenous southern Vietnamese populations. As a result, the Chamic language now has words that were borrowed from languages spoken by indigenous Vietnamese people. It is likely that an ancestral Kinh population was one of the populations that mixed with the Cham people shortly after their migration to mainland Asia.

Your maternal lineage may be linked to Marie Antoinette

Because it is so dominant in the general European population, haplogroup H also appears quite frequently in the continent's royal houses. Marie Antoinette, an Austrian Hapsburg who married into the French royal family, inherited the haplogroup from her maternal ancestors. So did Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh, whose recorded genealogy traces his female line to Bavaria. Scientists also discovered that famed 16th century astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus traced his maternal lineages to haplogroup H.

Maternal Haplo Image

What do people with the surname Vivian have in common?

Spoiler alert: it's complicated. People with the same last name are usually no more genetically similar than a randomly sampled group of people from the same population. That said, people with the same surname are more likely to have similar ancestries than randomly sampled individuals. The reason is the tendency of people with similar cultural or geographical backgrounds to preferentially mate with one another. That's why people who share a surname may be more likely to share traits and tendencies in common than people within the general population. Check out the percentages below to see the prevalences of tastes, habits, and traits of people with your surname compared with prevalences among 23andMe users.

Preferences

Vivian

Chocolate Ice Cream

Prefers chocolate flavored ice cream over other flavors.

"Vivian" Surname 35.7%

23andMe Users 41.3%

Traits

Vivian

Misophonia

When sounds made by others, like the sound of chewing or yawning, provoke strong emotional reactions in an individual.

"Vivian" Surname 32.3%

23andMe Users 27.9%

Habits

Vivian

Sugary Drink

Drinks one or more sugary drinks per day.

"Vivian" Surname 29.0%

23andMe Users 21.1%

Wellness

Vivian

Migraine

A severe headache characterized by intense pain, sensitivity to light and sound, and often accompanied by nausea and vomiting.

"Vivian" Surname 21.5%

23andMe Users 16.4%

Are health conditions linked to the last name Vivian?

The short answer is that, if there is an association between surname and health, it's usually more about your ancestry than your name. Individuals with a given surname are no more genetically similar than the general population but often have similar ancestries. The populations of people associated with those shared ancestries often have sets of genetic variations, also known as alleles, in common. Some of those alleles are associated with a greater likelihood of developing certain diseases.

Disease variant frequency by ancestry

Disease allele frequencies in populations associated with the surname Vivian are shown below. Important Note: not everyone with a disease allele will develop these health condition

Age-Related Macular Degeneration

Y402H variant

Age-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the most common cause of irreversible vision loss among older adults. The disease results in damage to the central part of the retina (the macula), impairing vision needed for reading, driving, or even recognizing faces. The 23andMe Health + Ancestry DNA test includes the two most common variants associated with an increased risk of developing the condition: the Y402H variant in the CFH gene and the A69S variant in the ARMS2 gene. Learn more about Age-Related Macular Degeneration

British & Irish 62.1%

23andMe Users 57.2%