# Viola (first name)

Source: https://namelineage.com/first-name/viola/  
Publisher: Name Lineage. US counts from the Social Security Administration; England and Wales counts from the Office for National Statistics; meaning and etymology from Wiktionary. Data updated 2026-11-11.

| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Usually given to | girls |
| Origin | Latin |
| Meaning | “violet” |
| Pronunciation | /vaɪˈəʊlə/, 3 syllables |
| Nicknames | none recorded |
| Variant spellings | none recorded |
| US babies named this | 133,427 since 1880 |
| Boys / girls in the US | 434 / 132,993 (100% girls) |
| Babies in England and Wales | 608, 1996 to 2025 |

## Etymology

From Latin viola (“violet”).

## What it means

Viola is grouped under violet.

## Popularity

The last 15 years of each series. A year is missing when too few babies were given the name for the agency to publish it: five in the US, three in England and Wales.

### United States, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 135 | 1,611 |
| 2012 | 169 | 1,383 |
| 2013 | 181 | 1,300 |
| 2014 | 194 | 1,252 |
| 2015 | 192 | 1,274 |
| 2016 | 223 | 1,139 |
| 2017 | 212 | 1,164 |
| 2018 | 214 | 1,144 |
| 2019 | 234 | 1,078 |
| 2020 | 216 | 1,119 |
| 2021 | 210 | 1,168 |
| 2022 | 249 | 1,031 |
| 2023 | 233 | 1,069 |
| 2024 | 202 | 1,186 |
| 2025 | 247 | 1,015 |

### United States, boys

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 1930 | 6 | 3,979 |
| 1931 | 20 | 1,639 |
| 1932 | 10 | 2,632 |
| 1933 | 12 | 2,211 |
| 1934 | 6 | 3,662 |
| 1936 | 9 | 2,617 |
| 1937 | 7 | 3,162 |
| 1938 | 8 | 2,855 |
| 1939 | 11 | 2,283 |
| 1940 | 10 | 2,473 |
| 1941 | 6 | 3,491 |
| 1944 | 5 | 3,880 |
| 1945 | 6 | 3,318 |
| 1946 | 5 | 3,999 |
| 1948 | 6 | 3,653 |

### England and Wales, girls

| Year | Babies | Rank |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 22 | 1,374 |
| 2012 | 23 | 1,387 |
| 2013 | 22 | 1,433 |
| 2014 | 32 | 1,094 |
| 2015 | 26 | 1,279 |
| 2016 | 32 | 1,086 |
| 2017 | 42 | 899 |
| 2018 | 46 | 815 |
| 2019 | 29 | 1,153 |
| 2020 | 40 | 894 |
| 2021 | 27 | 1,224 |
| 2022 | 32 | 1,058 |
| 2023 | 44 | 813 |
| 2024 | 39 | 918 |
| 2025 | 32 | 1,051 |

## In other languages

- Czech: Viola
- Danish: Viola
- Finnish: Viola
- Italian: Viola
- Swedish: Viola

## People named Viola

- Viola Davis, American actress and producer (born 1965)
- Viola Dana, actress (1897-1987)
- Viola Myers, athletics competitor (1927–1993)
- Viola Desmond, Canadian activist (1914-1965)
- Viola Bauer, German cross-country skier
- Viola Calligaris, association football player
- Viola Allen, American actress (1867–1948)
- Viola Goretzki, East German rower
- Viola Liuzzo, American activist and murder victim (1925–1965)
- Viola Smith, American musician (1912-2020)
- Viola Poley, East German rower
- Viola Barry, film actress (1894-1964)

## How to read these numbers

A count is babies registered with that name in that year, not people alive now, so a name common a century ago can have a large total and few recent births.