Hello there again,
I’m really falling for [name]Vivien[/name] (adore the nn [name]Vivi[/name]/[name]Viv[/name]), although I feel like it’s a slightly different style to my other favourites. But I have a few concerns:
[name]Do[/name] you see [name]Vivien[/name] as unisex or completely feminine? I’m very anti-unisex names, or using boys’ names for girls, so I’d hate to be seen as hypocritical by using [name]Vivien[/name] (which has a history as use by boys). I’ve done as much research as I can, and it seems that [name]Vivien[/name] has a long history of use for girls too & in the last hundred years or so it seems to have been extremely rarely used by boys.
Does the spelling make a difference to how you view the name? I’m leaning towards the [name]Vivien[/name] spelling (its the least common spelling, also seems most elegant), but I’m open to other opinions. Which is best: [name]Vivien[/name], [name]Vivienne[/name] or [name]Vivian[/name]? Does [name]Vivian[/name] seem more masculine?
[name]Do[/name] you think [name]Vivien[/name] is trendy? Bit worried about this.
[name]Do[/name] you see [name]Vivien[/name] as unisex or completely feminine? I see it as very feminine. I don’t see many people using it for boys anymore, unless it’s a family name. If I saw the name on paper, even if it were [name]Vivian[/name] [name]Andrew[/name], I would still think it was a girl first.
Does the spelling make a difference to how you view the name? Which is best: [name]Vivien[/name], [name]Vivienne[/name] or [name]Vivian[/name]? I like [name]Vivien[/name] or [name]Vivian[/name]. I dislike [name]Vivienne[/name]. I’m not sure why. The extra letters seem a little unnecessary I guess.
Does [name]Vivian[/name] seem more masculine? I don’t think there is a masculine spelling but I think if someone were going to name a boy [name]Vivian[/name], I would rather see this spelling.
[name]Do[/name] you think [name]Vivien[/name] is trendy? No, not at all.
I think of [name]Vivien[/name] as girl and [name]Vivian[/name] as boy. At least here in [name]England[/name], I know [name]Vivien[/name] is masculine in Frenchiland. I like [name]Vivien[/name] more than [name]Vivienne[/name], but I like the latter as well. I don’t see it as trendy at all.
I would say [name]Vivien[/name] is extremely feminine, I have never, ever heard it used on a boy (I’m not saying it hasn’t been, just that I’ve never seen it).
I personally like the French spelling the best ([name]Vivienne[/name]), also like [name]Vivian[/name]. [name]Vivien[/name] is probably my least favorite (sorry!) because people will pronounce it vivEEn, seems silly to me, but I have seen it happen several times.
I don’t think it’s trendy at all. It seems to be gaining popularity a bit right now, but I know a 30ish year old, a 17 year old, a 9 year old, and a 4 month old with that name, spelled various ways.
I personally like the [name]Vivian[/name] spelling the best, but [name]Vivienne[/name] is growing on me. I think it is completely feminine and gorgeous! I don’t think it is trendy at all, but will continue to rise in popularity. Hopefully, it will not reach [name]Isabella[/name] or [name]Ava[/name] levels.
I prefer the [name]Vivian[/name] or [name]Vivienne[/name] spelling. In the US, [name]Vivian[/name] spelling is most common if that matters. I see the name as very feminine also.
It is all girl to me. I never even realized it was ever used on boys. I prefer the [name]Vivienne[/name] spelling because I have a french last name and they would go well together. I am not sure which I like more between [name]Vivian[/name] and [name]Vivien[/name]. I don’t want to call it trendy because it is one of my favorite girl name’s right now.
Thanks everyone, very helpful replies! [name]Glad[/name] that there’s a consensus that [name]Vivien[/name]/[name]Vivienne[/name] is on team pink. I’m now rather torn about whether I prefer the [name]Vivien[/name] or [name]Vivienne[/name] spelling, though. I initially thought, as christabel said, that the extra letters seemed unnecessary, but I agree with others that it’s the most feminine spelling, and would hate pronunciation problems like lizzard21 suggested. I’m half-French, so I could definitely blag the [name]Vivienne[/name] spelling, especially as we would visit [name]France[/name], & as ottilie pointed out [name]Vivien[/name] is more masculine there.
I’m also really happy it’s not seen as trendy, but it’s definitely trending upwards quickly here in the UK. [name]Even[/name] though, with all spellings combined, it’s only around 360, I do worry that it will be the next [name]Isabella[/name] or [name]Olivia[/name]. Hmm.
