How popular is the baby name Vivica 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 Vivica.

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Popularity of the baby name Vivica


Posts that mention the name Vivica

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?

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Where did the baby name Anjanette come from in 1963?

Actress Anjanette Comer
Anjanette Comer

The name Anjanette first appeared in the baby name data in 1963, and the very next year it was popular enough to enter the top 1,000:

  • 1966: 90 baby girls named Anjanette
  • 1965: 106 baby girls named Anjanette
  • 1964: 133 baby girls named Anjanette [rank: 904th]
  • 1963: 6 baby girls named Anjanette [debut]
  • 1962: unlisted
  • 1961: unlisted

Several variant spellings (Anjeanette, Annjanette, Annjeanette, Anjanetta, and Anjannette) also emerged in 1964. In fact, one ’64 baby who was part of this trend was actress Vivica Anjanetta Fox.

What inspired this one?

Texas-born actress Anjanette Comer. She began popping up in small roles on TV in 1962. In 1964, she appeared in her first feature film (Quick, Before it Melts) and was nominated for an Emmy for “Outstanding Performance in a Supporting Role by an Actress” (an episode of Arrest and Trial).

In her earliest TV roles, she was credited as “Anja Comer.” And, toward the end of 1964, popular Hollywood columnist Dick Kleiner mentioned that Anjanette was called “Anja” by friends and family. So it’s not surprising that the first two years we see Anja creep into the data are 1962, followed by 1964:

  • 1966: 20 baby girls named Anja
  • 1965: 41 baby girls named Anja
  • 1964: 11 baby girls named Anja
  • 1963: unlisted
  • 1962: 7 baby girls named Anja [debut]
  • 1961: unlisted

Which name do you prefer, Anjanette or Anja?

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