Vivienne

Latin rooted it in vivus, alive, and the French form Vivienne carries that etymology as a posture rather than a definition — this is a name that enters a room as though it has something to say. The Lady of the Lake in Arthurian legend was Vivienne, the enchantress who kept Merlin in a tower of air, who gave Excalibur to Arthur and held the sword's secret. Couturier Vivienne Westwood wore it through decades of fashion that managed to be both outrageous and rigorous at once.

Angelina Jolie chose it for her daughter in 2008, and American parents followed with enough enthusiasm to move the double-n spelling ahead of the single-n Vivian in the rankings. Currently at rank 184, Vivienne sits in the upper tier of literary-vintage feminine names, beloved by parents who want something with genuine history and the kind of sound that holds up in every decade. The spelling signals French rather than English, which for many families is precisely the point.

Three syllables — VIV-ee-en — the first crisp and lit, the middle brief, the final syllable closing with the soft nasal that French endings carry. It pairs naturally with Andrea, Myla, Brianna, or Lilah in a sibling set, the most formally dressed of any group it joins. The girl who has always been Vivienne tends to have cultivated taste in at least one narrow area — a particular author, a particular era of design — and defends that taste with cheerful, unassailable certainty.