How popular is the baby name Viveca in the United States right now? How popular was it historically? Use the popularity graph and data table below to find out! Plus, see all the blog posts that mention the name Viveca.

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Popularity of the baby name Viveca


Posts that mention the name Viveca

Where did the baby name Viveca come from in 1948?

Swedish actress Viveca Lindfors (1920-1995)
Viveca Lindfors

The name Viveca may bring to mind American actress Vivica Fox, but she wasn’t the woman who put this name it on the map way back in in 1948:

  • 1950: 15 baby girls named Viveca
  • 1949: 13 baby girls named Viveca
  • 1948: 7 baby girls named Viveca [debut]
  • 1947: unlisted
  • 1946: unlisted

The influence here was Swedish actress Viveca Lindfors — born Elsa Viveca Torstensdotter Lindfors in Uppsala in 1920.

She’d been a film star in Europe since the early ’40s, but didn’t start appearing in movies in the U.S. until 1948.

One of her earliest movies for American audiences was Adventures of Don Juan (1948), in which she played Queen Margaret, the married love interest of Don Juan (played by Errol Flynn).

Viveca (and her name) were featured on the front cover of Life magazine in February of 1949. The blurb describing the cover began:

Viveca (pronounced Viv’eca) Lindfors is 28 years old, has brown hair and blue eyes, loves snow and hates hats, and has a very independent personality.

Her name can be traced back to the German name Wiebke [pronounced VEEB-kuh], the feminine form of Wiebe [VEE-buh]. They’re ultimately based upon the Germanic element wig, meaning “war.”

The spelling Vivica emerged in the data a few years later, and (as you’d expect) saw a big jump in usage in the ’90s, thanks to Vivica Fox.

What are your thoughts on the name Viveca? Which spelling do you prefer?

Sources:

Where did the baby name Zandalee come from in 1992?

The characters Zandalee and Johnny from the movie "Zandalee" (1991).
Zandalee and Johnny from “Zandalee

The curious name Zandalee has appeared in the U.S. baby name data a total of four times, all in the early/mid 1990s:

  • 1997: unlisted
  • 1996: 6 baby girls named Zandalee
  • 1995: unlisted
  • 1994: 5 baby girls named Zandalee
  • 1993: 11 baby girls named Zandalee
  • 1992: 11 baby girls named Zandalee [debut]
  • 1991: unlisted

Where did it come from?

The long forgotten 1991 movie Zandalee — an erotic thriller set in New Orleans.

Based on the Émile Zola’s novel Thérèse Raquin (1868), the movie told the story of a tragic love triangle between Zandalee (played by Erika Anderson), her businessman husband Thierry (Judge Reinhold), and her lover Johnny (Nicolas Cage).

It was released direct-to-video, and the reviews weren’t that great, so I’m thinking that the movie’s marketing is what called attention to the name.

What are your thoughts on the name Zandalee? Would you use it?

P.S. The actress who played Thierry’s grandmother, Viveca Lindfors, also had an influence on U.S. baby names…

Source: Zandalee – Wikipedia