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I think Vivian's use as a male name is going, going, gone. I really believe it has, more or less, lost every trace of masculinity it ever posessed in the US. It was never exactly well used on boys here, anyway, only cracking the top 500 in the 19th century, and I'd be willing to bet that many people who don't spend much time thinking about names and researching their histories--which is most people, really--would be surprised today to learn that Vivian has ever been used for girls.

This message was edited 4/26/2012, 9:32 AM

I have heard that Vivian started out as a boys' name, so I don't think that Oscar Wilde could have been the only one, though I have no idea how common it was as a boys' name in 19th century Britain.

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But...no, it does not work. There is a reason that Vivian became a girls' name. It sounds much more feminine than masculine. Now it is entrenched as a girls' name, and it would be horrible to give it to a boy.

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Didn't Wilde spell it Vyvyan or some such nonsense?

Yay!

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Love it! I don't think it would fare well in this day and age, but hypothetically it's awesome. It's very Victorian. I actually prefer the spelling Vivion because I decided that looks more masculine and differentiates. I saw that somewhere once... I think while looking at the wikipedia for Eamon de Valera. Yep, checked, it was his eldest son's name.

Not so 19th century:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vivian_Richards - cricket player
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vivian_Campbell - rock guitarist

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I think it could work. And if it didn't he could always drop the Viv and be Ian.

I know a woman who really wanted to use Vivian for her second son, but decided she couldn't because the ln began with a D, so to avoid VD she named him Paul.

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It might seem British, but only because they tended to learn French! What about using it as a mn?

as a side note: combos

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I sort of like:

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Vivian Fidel or Fidel Vivian
Vivian Caradoc or Caradoc Vivian
Vivian Daniel or Daniel Vivian
Vivian David or David Vivian
Vivian Colum or Colum Vivian
Vivian Barak
Vivian Altair
Vivian Xavier
Vivian Miguel
Vivian Gawain
Vivian Raphael

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Feel free to comment or make suggestions.

This message was edited 4/25/2012, 8:22 PM

I don't know...I like it. Sometimes you just gotta trust your gut. If teasing really became a problem, you could call him Viv, or by his middle name.
I like it though, its nice.

I know two men named Vivian, both in the same family. I much say I really dislike it on a man. I also know a female Vivian, and I muvh prefer it on a female.

I think it's a 19th century British thing.

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It is, of course, a genuine male name.But, as you say, I wouldn't do it to a child.