2000
#138,741
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 111
First available Census row
Per 100,000 0.04
Very Rare Last name
Vivens
A surname derived from the Latin word "vivens," meaning living or alive.
According to the 2020 US Census Bureau surname tables, roughly 125 Americans carry the last name Vivens. That puts it at #150,205 in the national surname ranking, appearing at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 people (about 1 in 2,742,035 residents).
This page is the full Name Census profile for the Vivens surname. You will find the Census Bureau frequency data, a multi-census history view, an ancestry and ethnicity breakdown based on self-reported demographics, the name's meaning and origin where available, and answers to the most common questions people ask about this surname.
Bearers in the US
125
1 in 2,742,035
Census rank
#150,205
2020 decennial data
Per 100,000
0.0
Frequency rate
Recorded bearers
109
very rare in the US
Popularity narrative
The Census Bureau recorded 109 bearers of the surname Vivens in its 2020 decennial surname file. At a rate of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, it holds the 150205th position in the national surname ranking.
Among Census respondents with the surname Vivens, the largest self-reported group is Black at 73.4%. The next largest groups are White (11.9%) and Hispanic (11.0%).
Origin
Meaning and origin of 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.
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Vivens
Among Census respondents with the surname Vivens, the largest self-reported group is Black at 73.4%. The next largest groups are White (11.9%) and Hispanic (11.0%).
The bar chart below shows how Vivens bearers described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given surname, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown for every Census year so the breakdown stays comparable over time. When the source file also includes raw headcounts, Name Census shows those alongside the percentages in the legend.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A person's surname does not determine their race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the Vivens surname at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American73.4% · 80
- White11.9% · 13
- Hispanic or Latino11.0% · 12
- Two or more races2.8% · 3
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 1
Timeline
Historical Census data for Vivens
Vivens appears in 3 published Census surname files: 2000, 2010, 2020. The cards below show how the name's rank and bearer count changed across each release.
2010
#123,796
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 139
+28 bearers (+25.2%)
Per 100,000 0.05
Rank movement Up 14,945 places
2020
#150,205
National surname rank
Recorded bearers 109
-30 bearers (-21.6%)
Per 100,000 0.04
Rank movement Down 26,409 places
| Year | Rank | Count | Per 100K | Count change | Rank change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | #138,741 | 111 | 0.04 | First available Census row | First available Census row |
| 2010 | #123,796 | 139 | 0.05 | +28 bearers (+25.2%) | Up 14,945 places |
| 2020 | #150,205 | 109 | 0.04 | -30 bearers (-21.6%) | Down 26,409 places |
For 2020, the Census Bureau published race and Hispanic-origin columns as counts rather than percentages. Name Census converts those counts back into shares so the ancestry section stays comparable with the older surname files.
Year on year
2010 vs 2020 Census
How has the Vivens surname changed between Census years? The chart shows bearer count side by side, and the table compares rank, count, and frequency.
Census year comparison
20102020
| Metric | 2010 | 2020 | Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rank | #123,796 | #150,205 | -21.3% |
| Count | 139 | 109 | -21.6% |
| Per 100K | 0.05 | 0.04 | -27.1% |
Between the 2010 and 2020 Census, the number of Vivens bearers went from 139 to 109 (-21.6% change). The surname moved down 26,409 positions in the national ranking, going from #123,796 to #150,205.
FAQ
Vivens surname: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. have the surname Vivens?
Name Census estimates that about 125 living Americans carry the surname Vivens. Using the current population baseline, that works out to roughly 1 in 2,742,035 residents.
How common is Vivens?
Vivens ranks #150,205 in the 2020 Census surname tables and is classified on this site as "Very Rare." The Census recorded the name at a frequency of 0.04 per 100,000 residents, which is about 0 people out of every 100,000.
How many people with this surname were counted in the Census?
The raw 2020 Census file counted 109 people with the surname Vivens. That is different from the site's living-bearer estimate (125), which projects the surname's present-day count by applying the Census frequency rate to the current U.S. population.
What does 0.04 per 100,000 actually mean?
It is the Census Bureau's normalized frequency measure. A rate of 0.04 per 100,000 means that if you picked a random group of 100,000 U.S. residents, you would expect about 0 of them to have the surname Vivens.
Has Vivens become more or less common over time?
Between 2010 and 2020, the surname Vivens went from 139 recorded bearers to 109. That is a decrease of 30 (-21.6%). In the national ranking it fell from #123,796 to #150,205.
What does the Census say about the background of Vivens?
Among Census respondents with the surname Vivens, the largest self-reported group is Black at 73.4%. The next largest groups are White (11.9%) and Hispanic (11.0%). These figures come from the 2020 Census Bureau surname tables, based on how respondents described their own race and ethnicity.
Which group reports this surname most often?
Black is the largest self-reported group for the surname Vivens in the 2020 Census, accounting for 73.4% (80 people in the source table).
What is the full ancestry breakdown?
Vivens appears across multiple self-reported groups in the Census data. The largest shares in the 2020 file are Black (73.4%), White (11.9%), Hispanic (11.0%). For 2020, the source file also published raw headcounts for each group, which is why this page can show both percentages and counts in the ancestry section.
Is this page using the latest Census data?
Yes. This page is using the latest surname file currently loaded on Name Census, which is 2020. The historical section above also keeps any older Census surname entries we have for Vivens (2000, 2010, 2020).
Does the Census include every surname?
No. The Census Bureau only publishes surnames that appeared at least 100 times in a given decennial Census. That means very rare surnames are excluded entirely, and a surname can appear in one Census release but disappear from a later one if it falls below the reporting threshold.
Why don't the ancestry percentages always add up to exactly 100%?
There are two main reasons: rounding and suppression. The Census Bureau rounds published values, and it may suppress very small cells to protect privacy. For 2020, the Bureau also published raw group counts rather than direct percentages, so Name Census converts those counts back into shares for comparability across census years.
What does Vivens mean?
A surname derived from the Latin word "vivens," meaning living or alive. The fuller origin note on this page goes into more detail.
Where does the surname data come from?
All surname statistics on Name Census are drawn from the US Census Bureau's decennial surname frequency tables. These files list every surname that appeared 100 or more times in the 2020 Census, along with a count, a per-100,000 rate, and a self-reported demographic breakdown. You can read the full explanation on our methodology page.
How does Name Census estimate living bearers?
For surnames, Name Census does not age cohorts the way it does for first names. Instead, it takes the Census Bureau's published frequency for Vivens (0.04 per 100,000) and applies that rate to the current U.S. resident population to estimate how many living Americans have the surname today.
How many people have the last name Vivens?
For a quick modern take, check how common the surname Vivens is on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org.