Fun Facts About the Name Vidal
- More than 4 thousand babies named Vidal: U.S. records list 4,247 babies given the name Vidal from 1880 through 2025. Even 10 girls received the name Vidal - about 1 girl for every 424 boys.
What Does the Name Vidal Mean?
Vidal means "vital" or "life-giving" and comes from the Latin Vitalis, a Roman byname (cognomen) built on vita, "life." The Latin form passed into the Romance languages and took the shape Vidal in Spanish, Catalan, Portuguese, and Occitan; Italian has Vitale and French has Vital. As a name it is a direct descendant of that Latin word rather than a translation: the initial V-, the stressed second syllable, and the loss of the ending -is are the ordinary sound changes of these languages. Literally the name describes something "of life" or "belonging to life"; the familiar English rendering "life-giving" is a customary interpretation rather than the strict dictionary sense.
Vidal Name History & Origins
The name rests on early Christian devotion to martyrs called Vitalis. Several saints of that name were honored in the ancient church, among them Vitalis of Milan, remembered with his companions Gervasius and Protasius. Because of that veneration the Latin name stayed in use through the Middle Ages, when it was common in southern France and the Iberian Peninsula in its vernacular forms.
In Occitania the name belongs to the troubadour Peire Vidal, active around the end of the twelfth century, and to Raimon Vidal de Besalú, a troubadour and grammarian of the same period. In Catalonia, Valencia, Provence, and Portugal, Vidal served as an ordinary given name in the Middle Ages, and it was also used by Jewish families in those regions as a vernacular name alongside Hebrew names. By the later Middle Ages it was increasingly fixed as a hereditary surname, the role in which it is now most common in the Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking world and in countries shaped by Iberian emigration. In Venice the name survives in the church of San Vidal, dedicated to Saint Vitalis.
How Popular is the Name Vidal?
Vidal recorded its highest annual U.S. birth count in 1972. Its best rank was #621 in 1972.
U.S. name popularity from 1880-2025, based on SSA data. Rank shows how the name compares with other names - lower numbers mean greater popularity. Births shows how many babies received the name each year.
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | #13,204 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1972 | #9,631 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #3,121 | 39 | 0.0023% |
| 2024 | #3,200 | 38 | 0.0022% |
| 2023 | #3,619 | 32 | 0.0019% |
| 2022 | #2,710 | 49 | 0.0028% |
| 2021 | #3,289 | 36 | 0.0021% |
| 2020 | #4,009 | 26 | 0.0015% |
| 2019 | #3,189 | 37 | 0.0021% |
| 2018 | #3,164 | 37 | 0.0020% |
| 2017 | #2,710 | 46 | 0.0025% |
| 2016 | #2,549 | 50 | 0.0026% |
| 2015 | #2,962 | 40 | 0.0021% |
| 2014 | #3,778 | 28 | 0.0015% |
| 2013 | #2,621 | 46 | 0.0024% |
| 2012 | #3,175 | 36 | 0.0019% |
| 2011 | #2,624 | 47 | 0.0025% |
| 2010 | #2,372 | 54 | 0.0028% |
| 2009 | #2,284 | 58 | 0.0029% |
| 2008 | #2,430 | 53 | 0.0026% |
| 2007 | #2,367 | 55 | 0.0027% |
| 2006 | #2,281 | 56 | 0.0027% |
| 2005 | #2,180 | 56 | 0.0028% |
| 2004 | #2,099 | 57 | 0.0029% |
| 2003 | #1,958 | 60 | 0.0030% |
| 2002 | #1,722 | 68 | 0.0035% |
| 2001 | #1,797 | 63 | 0.0032% |
| 2000 | #1,767 | 63 | 0.0032% |
| 1999 | #1,854 | 54 | 0.0028% |
| 1998 | #1,619 | 65 | 0.0034% |
| 1997 | #1,478 | 73 | 0.0039% |
| 1996 | #1,478 | 69 | 0.0036% |
| 1995 | #1,255 | 87 | 0.0046% |
| 1994 | #1,330 | 78 | 0.0040% |
| 1993 | #1,154 | 95 | 0.0048% |
| 1992 | #1,273 | 80 | 0.0040% |
| 1991 | #1,226 | 83 | 0.0041% |
| 1990 | #1,369 | 67 | 0.0033% |
| 1989 | #1,431 | 59 | 0.0029% |
| 1988 | #1,203 | 72 | 0.0038% |
| 1987 | #1,561 | 46 | 0.0025% |
| 1986 | #1,474 | 47 | 0.0026% |
| 1985 | #1,267 | 58 | 0.0031% |
| 1984 | #1,263 | 54 | 0.0030% |
| 1983 | #1,220 | 57 | 0.0032% |
| 1982 | #1,276 | 54 | 0.0030% |
| 1981 | #1,187 | 61 | 0.0034% |
| 1980 | #1,165 | 62 | 0.0035% |
| 1979 | #1,192 | 59 | 0.0034% |
| 1978 | #1,325 | 48 | 0.0029% |
| 1977 | #1,428 | 42 | 0.0026% |
| 1976 | #1,223 | 51 | 0.0033% |
| 1975 | #1,450 | 38 | 0.0024% |
| 1974 | #1,149 | 52 | 0.0033% |
| 1973 | #841 | 90 | 0.0058% |
| 1972 | #621 | 161 | 0.0099% |
| 1971 | #1,557 | 32 | 0.0018% |
| 1970 | #1,580 | 30 | 0.0016% |
| 1969 | #1,434 | 32 | 0.0018% |
| 1968 | #1,503 | 28 | 0.0016% |
| 1967 | #1,648 | 23 | 0.0013% |
| 1966 | #1,577 | 25 | 0.0014% |
| 1965 | #1,511 | 27 | 0.0015% |
| 1964 | #1,578 | 26 | 0.0013% |
| 1963 | #1,789 | 21 | 0.0010% |
| 1962 | #1,422 | 31 | 0.0015% |
| 1961 | #1,465 | 31 | 0.0015% |
| 1960 | #1,434 | 32 | 0.0015% |
| 1959 | #1,300 | 37 | 0.0017% |
| 1958 | #1,419 | 31 | 0.0015% |
| 1957 | #1,581 | 26 | 0.0012% |
| 1956 | #1,818 | 20 | 0.0009% |
| 1955 | #1,608 | 24 | 0.0012% |
| 1954 | #1,331 | 33 | 0.0016% |
| 1953 | #1,354 | 32 | 0.0016% |
| 1952 | #1,244 | 36 | 0.0019% |
| 1951 | #1,459 | 27 | 0.0014% |
| 1950 | #1,570 | 23 | 0.0013% |
| 1949 | #3,006 | 8 | 0.0005% |
| 1948 | #1,813 | 18 | 0.0010% |
| 1947 | #1,785 | 19 | 0.0010% |
| 1946 | #2,025 | 14 | 0.0009% |
| 1945 | #1,534 | 20 | 0.0015% |
| 1944 | #1,523 | 21 | 0.0015% |
| 1943 | #1,830 | 17 | 0.0012% |
| 1942 | #2,143 | 13 | 0.0009% |
| 1941 | #1,528 | 21 | 0.0017% |
| 1940 | #2,074 | 13 | 0.0011% |
| 1939 | #1,577 | 19 | 0.0017% |
| 1938 | #1,555 | 20 | 0.0018% |
| 1937 | #1,824 | 16 | 0.0015% |
| 1936 | #1,869 | 15 | 0.0014% |
| 1935 | #1,655 | 19 | 0.0018% |
| 1934 | #1,321 | 27 | 0.0026% |
| 1933 | #2,210 | 12 | 0.0012% |
| 1932 | #1,988 | 15 | 0.0014% |
| 1931 | #2,465 | 11 | 0.0011% |
| 1930 | #2,072 | 15 | 0.0014% |
| 1929 | #1,670 | 21 | 0.0020% |
| 1928 | #2,042 | 16 | 0.0014% |
| 1927 | #2,120 | 16 | 0.0014% |
| 1926 | #1,978 | 17 | 0.0015% |
| 1925 | #2,584 | 12 | 0.0011% |
| 1924 | #2,221 | 15 | 0.0013% |
| 1923 | #4,856 | 5 | 0.0005% |
| 1922 | #2,624 | 12 | 0.0011% |
| 1921 | #2,370 | 14 | 0.0013% |
| 1920 | #3,481 | 8 | 0.0008% |
| 1919 | #2,258 | 14 | 0.0014% |
| 1918 | #3,706 | 7 | 0.0007% |
| 1917 | #3,202 | 8 | 0.0009% |
| 1912 | #2,889 | 5 | 0.0012% |
| 1910 | #1,580 | 6 | 0.0031% |
| 1909 | #1,081 | 9 | 0.0055% |
Name popularity over more than a century, based on Social Security Administration data. Gaps in the chart indicate years when the name does not appear in the published records.
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How the Name Vidal Shapes Your Personality and Life?
You are fixed in your opinions, firm in your friendships and square in your dealings with others. You are an excellent worker. Since you are both possessive and emotional, you can be either very practical or very impractical and unpredictable. Your dual nature needs to become steadfast. You are the marrying kind. You are intuitive and might be interested in the arts, drama or science.
Creative and outgoing, you are always looking for an opportunity to show your abilities, especially before audience. You are very flexible and like to feel appreciated. You are looking for chances to mix with others socially and to communicate your ideas. You like to talk and can easily relate to different cultures and concepts. The biggest challenge for you is uncertainty. Easily getting bored, you can move from one job to another, switch projects and lovers. The high creative force can lead you either to happiness or unhappiness. If you understand your goals, if you can make major decisions in life and follow it directly and straight up without worry and uncertainty, you are able to achieve great heights.
✦ Vidal's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Vidal's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.