When I was early in the pregnancy (before we even knew we were having a girl), we were at one of Jackson's music classes. One of the little girl's in the class was named Vivian. Daddy turned to me and said "that's a great name." From that point on, that was really the only first name we considered.
The middle name was a bit more difficult for us to agree on. We both had different opinions, but a few days before Vivian was due to be born, I came across a list of all the names we had considered for Jackson, as well as a list of the names on my mom's side of the family.
We saw that my mom's mom (Grandma Great Edith Amundson) had the middle name Jane, which we both really liked and also liked that it had significance. Our name hunt was done.
Interestingly, Vivian was on Adam's original list of names we considered if Jackson was a girl. Though apparently at that point I didn't like it as much as it was crossed off!
Here is what the baby name book says about these names:
Vivian: This polished old favorite is ready to shine again. The full name Vivian has a no-nonsense elegance, while the nickname Viv is impish and contemporary.
Nicknames: Viv, Vi, Vivi
Here is what a website says about the meaning of the name.
GENDER: Masculine & Feminine
PRONOUNCED: VIV-ee-ən (English) [key]
Meaning & History
From the Latin name
Vivianus which was derived from Latin
vivus "alive".
Saint Vivian was a French bishop who provided protection during the Visigoth invasion of the 5th century. It has been occasionally used as an English (masculine) name since the Middle Ages. In modern times it is also used as a feminine name, in which case it is either an Anglicized form of
BÉBINN or a variant of
VIVIEN (2).
Jane: Plain Jane is the gold standard for simplicity, and that's a terrific distinction. The founders of Jane magazine banked on the name's distinctness to cement their image. It's straight-shooting and genuine.
.JPG)