The name Vicente originated from the Latin name Vincentius, which means "conquering" or "victorious". It is derived from the Latin word "vincere", meaning "to conquer" or "to overcome".

Vicente was a popular name during the Roman era and was borne by several early Christian martyrs and saints. One of the most notable was Saint Vincent of Saragossa, a deacon who was tortured and martyred in Valencia, Spain, around the year 304 AD during the Diocletian persecution.

The name gained widespread popularity in Spain and Portugal, where it was often given to children in honor of Saint Vincent. It later spread to other parts of Europe and Latin America due to Spanish and Portuguese colonization.

One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Vicente can be found in the 12th-century literary work "Cantar de Mio Cid", which refers to a character named Vicente Muñoz. In the 13th century, Vicente Ferrer (1350-1419) was a renowned Spanish Dominican friar, philosopher, and logician known for his preaching and missionary work.

Other notable individuals named Vicente throughout history include Vicente Yáñez Pinzón (1460-1514), a Spanish navigator and explorer who was the first European to cross the equator in the Western Hemisphere; Vicente Guerrero (1782-1831), a Mexican revolutionary leader and the second President of Mexico; and Vicente Blasco Ibáñez (1867-1928), a prominent Spanish novelist and writer.

In the 20th century, Vicente Huidobro (1893-1948) was a Chilean poet and founder of the Creacionismo literary movement, while Vicente Aleixandre (1898-1984) was a Spanish poet and Nobel Prize laureate in literature.