Find out how popular the last name Vivens is in the United States and learn more about the meaning, history, and race and ethnic origin of people in America who are named Vivens.

Vivens, like all of the last names we have data for, is identified by the U.S. Census Bureau as a surname which has more than 100 occurrences in the United States in the Decennial Census survey. The most recent statistics we have for the Vivens surname is from the 2010 census data.

Popularity of Vivens in America

Vivens is the 123796th most popular name in America based on the data we have collected from the U.S. Census Bureau.

The Vivens surname appeared 139 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 people would have the surname Vivens.

We can also compare 2010 data for Vivens to data from the previous census in 2000. The table below contains all of the statistics for both years in a side-by-side comparison.

The history of the last name Vivens

The surname VIVENS originates from France and can be traced back to the 12th century. It is derived from the Latin word "vivens," meaning "living" or "alive." This name was likely given as a nickname or descriptive name to someone who appeared particularly lively or full of life.

The earliest recorded instance of the surname VIVENS can be found in the Cartulaire de Notre-Dame de Chartres, a medieval manuscript dating from the 12th century, which mentions a person named Petrus Vivens. Another early reference is in the Cartulaire de l'abbaye de Montiéramey, a 13th-century document that records a certain Guillelmus Vivens.

During the Middle Ages, the VIVENS surname was particularly prevalent in the regions of Normandy and Île-de-France. The name may have also been associated with certain place names, such as Villeneuve-Vivens, a commune in the Aude department of southern France.

One notable historical figure bearing the VIVENS surname was Jean Vivens, a 16th-century French ecclesiastic who served as the Bishop of Auxerre from 1541 to 1550. Another was Antoine Vivens (1524-1586), a French lawyer and legal scholar who wrote extensively on Roman law.

In the 17th century, Pierre Vivens (1600-1673) was a prominent French botanist and physician who made significant contributions to the study of plant life. He is best known for his work "Plantarum Aquitanicarum Catalogus," a catalog of plants found in the Aquitaine region of France.

Moving into the 18th century, Michel Vivens (1708-1773) was a French engraver and printmaker who produced numerous engravings and illustrations for books and publications of his time.

In the 19th century, Louis Vivens (1809-1895) was a French lawyer and politician who served as a member of the National Assembly and played a role in the events leading up to the French Revolution of 1848.

These are just a few examples of notable individuals throughout history who bore the surname VIVENS, a name with deep roots in France and a rich historical legacy.

Race and ethnic origin of people with the last name Vivens

We also have some data on the ancestry of people with the surname Vivens.

The below race categories are the modified race categories used in the Census Bureau's population estimates program. All people were categorized into six mutually exclusive racial and Hispanic origin groups:

1. White only
2. Black only
3. American Indian and Alaskan Native only
4. Asian and Pacific Islander only
5. Hispanic
6. Two or More Races

For the most recent 2010 census data, the race/ethnic origin breakdown for Vivens was:

Note: Any fields showing (S) means the data was suppressed for privacy so that the data does not in any way identify any specific individuals.

Since we have data from the previous census in 2000, we can also compare the values to see how the popularity of Vivens has changed in the 10 years between the two census surveys.

Data source

The last name data and ethnic breakdown of last names is sourced directly from the Decennial Census survey, conducted every 10 years by the United States Census Bureau.

The history and meaning of the name Vivens was researched and written by our team of onomatology and genealogy experts.

If you have a correction or suggestion to improve the history of Vivens, please contact us.

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