I'm learning English now, so I gave myself an English name — Vivi." However, an American told me that "Vivi" is not suitable for a name. There are some local reasons. So I want to know if "Vivi" really can't be used as a name."
Vivi, Vivy, and Viv are traditional nicknames, or diminutives, of the beautiful names Vivian, Vivien, Vivienne, and Viviana. In Latin, Vivian means full of life.
The various forms of Vivian and its nicknames are well established:
- Vivian Vance played Ethel Mertz, Lucy Ricardo's neighbor and best friend on the famous 1950s U.S. television show, I Love Lucy. When Lucille Ball tried to return to TV in 1962 with The Lucy Show, Vivian Vance came along, too, as the character Viv Bagley.
- Hollywood power couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie named their third daughter Vivienne.
- Vivien Leigh starred as Scarlett O'Hara in the classic movie Gone with the Wind.
- Vivi is the name of a Japanese fashion magazine for young women and is the name of a lake and river in Russia.
- Both Belgium and France have a city named Vivy.
If you feel uncomfortable with Vivi, you could begin by using one of the more formal forms — Vivian, Vivien, Vivienne, or Viviana — and people may naturally start calling you Viv. When they start doing that, you can then ask them to use Vivi as your nickname.