Vivian Family History

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.

French: mainly southern variant of the personal name Vivien (see 1 above).

Spanish and Galician (Vivián): from the personal name Vivián (see 1 above). Compare Bibian.