Fun Facts About the Name Viola
- An established favorite: Viola held a place in the U.S. top 100 for 47 consecutive years, from 1880 through 1926.
- More than 133 thousand babies named Viola: U.S. records list 133,422 babies given the name Viola from 1880 through 2025. Even 434 boys received the name Viola - about 1 boy for every 306 girls.
What Does the Name Viola Mean?
Viola means "violet," the small spring-blooming flower. The name is taken directly from the Latin noun viola, which is also the ordinary Italian word for the flower. The further origin of the Latin word is uncertain: because violets were familiar around the Mediterranean long before Latin spread, viola is often thought to have been borrowed from an older Mediterranean language rather than inherited from Indo-European roots. A connection is sometimes suggested with the Greek word for the violet, ion, but that relationship is not securely established.
The musical instrument called a viola shares the spelling and sound of the name but belongs to a different word family, so the two are not etymologically related.
Viola Name History & Origins
Viola has been used as a given name in Italy and other Romance-speaking regions, where viola is simply the word for the flower. In English it appears by the late sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, and it is the name Shakespeare gave to the heroine of Twelfth Night, first performed around 1601 or 1602. That literary role gave the name wide recognition in English, though it was not the earliest occurrence of the name.
The name continued in modest English use and appears in nineteenth-century fiction and drama. Its Italian diminutive form, Violetta, is the name of the heroine of Verdi's opera La traviata (1853). Botanists also adopted Viola as the scientific genus name for violets, taken from the same Latin source.
How Popular is the Name Viola?
Viola remained among the top 100 girl names in the U.S. from 1880 to 1926. Its highest annual birth count was in 1918, and people born that year turn 108 in 2026.
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 | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | #1,015 | 247 | 0.0154% |
| 2024 | #1,190 | 199 | 0.0123% |
| 2023 | #1,072 | 232 | 0.0145% |
| 2022 | #1,033 | 248 | 0.0151% |
| 2021 | #1,168 | 210 | 0.0128% |
| 2020 | #1,119 | 216 | 0.0134% |
| 2019 | #1,076 | 234 | 0.0139% |
| 2018 | #1,143 | 214 | 0.0126% |
| 2017 | #1,164 | 212 | 0.0123% |
| 2016 | #1,139 | 223 | 0.0126% |
| 2015 | #1,274 | 192 | 0.0108% |
| 2014 | #1,252 | 194 | 0.0109% |
| 2013 | #1,300 | 181 | 0.0103% |
| 2012 | #1,389 | 168 | 0.0095% |
| 2011 | #1,611 | 135 | 0.0077% |
| 2010 | #1,768 | 117 | 0.0066% |
| 2009 | #1,847 | 116 | 0.0063% |
| 2008 | #2,104 | 97 | 0.0051% |
| 2007 | #2,033 | 101 | 0.0053% |
| 2006 | #2,015 | 99 | 0.0052% |
| 2005 | #2,754 | 61 | 0.0033% |
| 2004 | #2,994 | 53 | 0.0029% |
| 2003 | #2,672 | 60 | 0.0033% |
| 2002 | #2,671 | 58 | 0.0032% |
| 2001 | #3,194 | 44 | 0.0024% |
| 2000 | #3,118 | 45 | 0.0025% |
| 1999 | #2,700 | 52 | 0.0029% |
| 1998 | #3,010 | 43 | 0.0024% |
| 1997 | #2,819 | 44 | 0.0025% |
| 1996 | #2,671 | 47 | 0.0027% |
| 1995 | #2,930 | 41 | 0.0023% |
| 1994 | #2,796 | 44 | 0.0025% |
| 1993 | #2,532 | 50 | 0.0028% |
| 1992 | #2,575 | 49 | 0.0027% |
| 1991 | #2,214 | 60 | 0.0032% |
| 1990 | #2,233 | 58 | 0.0031% |
| 1989 | #2,026 | 63 | 0.0034% |
| 1988 | #1,787 | 71 | 0.0040% |
| 1987 | #1,718 | 71 | 0.0041% |
| 1986 | #1,909 | 59 | 0.0034% |
| 1985 | #1,782 | 64 | 0.0037% |
| 1984 | #1,396 | 84 | 0.0050% |
| 1983 | #1,521 | 75 | 0.0045% |
| 1982 | #1,415 | 87 | 0.0051% |
| 1981 | #1,453 | 84 | 0.0050% |
| 1980 | #1,243 | 106 | 0.0064% |
| 1979 | #1,430 | 86 | 0.0054% |
| 1978 | #1,706 | 62 | 0.0040% |
| 1977 | #1,357 | 84 | 0.0055% |
| 1976 | #1,165 | 99 | 0.0068% |
| 1975 | #1,277 | 88 | 0.0060% |
| 1974 | #1,032 | 117 | 0.0080% |
| 1973 | #1,037 | 113 | 0.0077% |
| 1972 | #958 | 128 | 0.0084% |
| 1971 | #979 | 130 | 0.0078% |
| 1970 | #883 | 151 | 0.0086% |
| 1969 | #896 | 139 | 0.0082% |
| 1968 | #788 | 163 | 0.0099% |
| 1967 | #679 | 204 | 0.0124% |
| 1966 | #680 | 206 | 0.0122% |
| 1965 | #618 | 249 | 0.0141% |
| 1964 | #576 | 294 | 0.0155% |
| 1963 | #556 | 308 | 0.0160% |
| 1962 | #548 | 320 | 0.0163% |
| 1961 | #475 | 421 | 0.0209% |
| 1960 | #474 | 428 | 0.0212% |
| 1959 | #481 | 407 | 0.0201% |
| 1958 | #448 | 452 | 0.0225% |
| 1957 | #444 | 448 | 0.0219% |
| 1956 | #390 | 528 | 0.0263% |
| 1955 | #387 | 512 | 0.0262% |
| 1954 | #362 | 574 | 0.0296% |
| 1953 | #357 | 571 | 0.0304% |
| 1952 | #322 | 634 | 0.0342% |
| 1951 | #313 | 636 | 0.0353% |
| 1950 | #311 | 624 | 0.0364% |
| 1949 | #296 | 685 | 0.0400% |
| 1948 | #284 | 724 | 0.0426% |
| 1947 | #270 | 813 | 0.0459% |
| 1946 | #257 | 781 | 0.0497% |
| 1945 | #242 | 765 | 0.0585% |
| 1944 | #234 | 800 | 0.0603% |
| 1943 | #220 | 893 | 0.0640% |
| 1942 | #213 | 941 | 0.0697% |
| 1941 | #202 | 901 | 0.0746% |
| 1940 | #190 | 966 | 0.0845% |
| 1939 | #187 | 980 | 0.0894% |
| 1938 | #187 | 1,040 | 0.0943% |
| 1937 | #175 | 1,158 | 0.1088% |
| 1936 | #165 | 1,187 | 0.1141% |
| 1935 | #152 | 1,326 | 0.1265% |
| 1934 | #142 | 1,435 | 0.1374% |
| 1933 | #138 | 1,478 | 0.1466% |
| 1932 | #136 | 1,668 | 0.1563% |
| 1931 | #127 | 1,823 | 0.1712% |
| 1930 | #116 | 2,161 | 0.1919% |
| 1929 | #109 | 2,291 | 0.2052% |
| 1928 | #103 | 2,623 | 0.2274% |
| 1927 | #101 | 2,769 | 0.2322% |
| 1926 | #97 | 2,876 | 0.2426% |
| 1925 | #84 | 3,336 | 0.2740% |
| 1924 | #82 | 3,577 | 0.2864% |
| 1923 | #79 | 3,534 | 0.2929% |
| 1922 | #72 | 3,793 | 0.3158% |
| 1921 | #66 | 4,160 | 0.3374% |
| 1920 | #59 | 4,292 | 0.3582% |
| 1919 | #58 | 4,129 | 0.3654% |
| 1918 | #59 | 4,331 | 0.3741% |
| 1917 | #59 | 4,040 | 0.3736% |
| 1916 | #59 | 3,948 | 0.3780% |
| 1915 | #59 | 3,855 | 0.3918% |
| 1914 | #57 | 3,204 | 0.4207% |
| 1913 | #52 | 2,847 | 0.4559% |
| 1912 | #52 | 2,550 | 0.4569% |
| 1911 | #47 | 2,083 | 0.4980% |
| 1910 | #48 | 2,090 | 0.5271% |
| 1909 | #46 | 1,926 | 0.5547% |
| 1908 | #42 | 1,964 | 0.5875% |
| 1907 | #47 | 1,805 | 0.5666% |
| 1906 | #47 | 1,675 | 0.5672% |
| 1905 | #44 | 1,697 | 0.5819% |
| 1904 | #46 | 1,545 | 0.5611% |
| 1903 | #44 | 1,495 | 0.5707% |
| 1902 | #48 | 1,447 | 0.5480% |
| 1901 | #47 | 1,331 | 0.5561% |
| 1900 | #49 | 1,674 | 0.5584% |
| 1899 | #50 | 1,156 | 0.4961% |
| 1898 | #53 | 1,272 | 0.4916% |
| 1897 | #58 | 1,017 | 0.4342% |
| 1896 | #62 | 1,047 | 0.4401% |
| 1895 | #63 | 1,010 | 0.4323% |
| 1894 | #65 | 906 | 0.4064% |
| 1893 | #66 | 839 | 0.3941% |
| 1892 | #66 | 833 | 0.3923% |
| 1891 | #73 | 609 | 0.3283% |
| 1890 | #68 | 697 | 0.3661% |
| 1889 | #76 | 536 | 0.3005% |
| 1888 | #74 | 596 | 0.3337% |
| 1887 | #80 | 420 | 0.2877% |
| 1886 | #77 | 440 | 0.3044% |
| 1885 | #88 | 345 | 0.2593% |
| 1884 | #82 | 362 | 0.2806% |
| 1883 | #83 | 331 | 0.2947% |
| 1882 | #83 | 310 | 0.2874% |
| 1881 | #92 | 237 | 0.2577% |
| 1880 | #94 | 229 | 0.2517% |
| Year | Rank | Births | % |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1948 | #3,653 | 6 | 0.0003% |
| 1946 | #3,999 | 5 | 0.0003% |
| 1945 | #3,318 | 6 | 0.0004% |
| 1944 | #3,880 | 5 | 0.0004% |
| 1941 | #3,491 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1940 | #2,473 | 10 | 0.0009% |
| 1939 | #2,283 | 11 | 0.0010% |
| 1938 | #2,855 | 8 | 0.0007% |
| 1937 | #3,162 | 7 | 0.0007% |
| 1936 | #2,616 | 9 | 0.0009% |
| 1934 | #3,662 | 6 | 0.0006% |
| 1933 | #2,211 | 12 | 0.0012% |
| 1932 | #2,632 | 10 | 0.0010% |
| 1931 | #1,639 | 20 | 0.0019% |
| 1930 | #3,979 | 6 | 0.0005% |
| 1929 | #1,999 | 16 | 0.0015% |
| 1928 | #2,157 | 15 | 0.0014% |
| 1927 | #2,903 | 10 | 0.0009% |
| 1926 | #1,908 | 18 | 0.0016% |
| 1925 | #2,185 | 15 | 0.0013% |
| 1924 | #2,815 | 11 | 0.0010% |
| 1923 | #2,607 | 12 | 0.0011% |
| 1922 | #2,139 | 16 | 0.0015% |
| 1921 | #2,371 | 14 | 0.0013% |
| 1920 | #1,960 | 18 | 0.0017% |
| 1919 | #2,259 | 14 | 0.0014% |
| 1918 | #2,691 | 11 | 0.0011% |
| 1917 | #2,277 | 13 | 0.0014% |
| 1916 | #2,917 | 9 | 0.0010% |
| 1915 | #2,452 | 11 | 0.0013% |
| 1913 | #1,940 | 10 | 0.0020% |
| 1911 | #1,986 | 5 | 0.0022% |
| 1910 | #1,305 | 8 | 0.0041% |
| 1909 | #1,017 | 10 | 0.0061% |
| 1908 | #1,019 | 9 | 0.0058% |
| 1906 | #1,240 | 6 | 0.0045% |
| 1905 | #1,226 | 6 | 0.0045% |
| 1904 | #1,193 | 6 | 0.0047% |
| 1903 | #1,123 | 6 | 0.0050% |
| 1902 | #738 | 11 | 0.0090% |
| 1901 | #1,202 | 5 | 0.0047% |
| 1900 | #1,496 | 5 | 0.0033% |
| 1899 | #927 | 7 | 0.0066% |
| 1891 | #1,116 | 5 | 0.0049% |
| 1889 | #1,104 | 5 | 0.0045% |
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.
Explore Name Lists Featuring Viola
Carl appears in several baby name collections based on U.S. popularity records, naming trends, and name characteristics. Explore these lists to discover other names with similar histories, styles, or features.
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How the Name Viola 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.
You are seeking freedom, opportunities to enjoy life: to make love, to go places and to do things. You are very adventurous and willing to take risk to achieve your objectives. New ways and new experiences can't satisfy your restless nature. One adventure leads you to another. You are honest and fair, because you know that this is the only way to receive justice and honesty from other people. But your personal growth is vital for you, and it is difficult to be tied down by rules and obligations. Your restless spirit might best controlled by choosing the field of work that meet your demand for action and adventure.
✦ Viola's Deeper Meaning & Tips for Parents Discover Viola's symbolic numbers and practical tips for choosing a name that complements your child's birth date.