Lola
Little girl of Spanish origin referring to a feminine name.
Name Census estimates that about 41,873 living Americans carry the first name Lola. It sits at #273 in the overall ranking, outside the top 50 but still well-represented. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Lola today is around 32 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Lola births was 1919 (1,623 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Lola. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
Key insights
- • Although Lola is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 275 boys registered with the name since 1880.
People living today
42K
~ 1 in 8,186 Americans
Peak year
1919
1,623 babies that year
Average age
32
years old
1944 SSA rank
#273
Tracked since 1880
Gender
Gender distribution for Lola
Out of the 96,020 babies given the name Lola since 1880, 99.7% were registered as female. The name sits firmly on the female side of the spectrum, with only a handful of male registrations across the entire dataset.
Lola as a male name
- Ranked #3,313 in 1944
- 6 male births in 1944
- Peak: 1926 (12 births)
Lola as a female name
- Ranked #273 in 2024
- 1,155 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1919 (1,617 births)
Popularity
Lola: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Lola from the 1880s through to the 2020s, spanning 15 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 14,746 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1920s peak, Lola remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Lola by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Lola during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Lolas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 50 states and territories. Texas, California, Illinois recorded the most babies named Lola, while Alaska, Delaware, New Hampshire recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 1,597 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Lola
The name Lola is a diminutive form of the Spanish name Dolores, which means "sorrows" and refers to the sorrows of the Virgin Mary. It has its roots in the Latin word "dolor," meaning pain or grief. The name Lola gained popularity in the late 19th century, particularly in Spain and Latin American countries influenced by Spanish culture.
One of the earliest recorded uses of the name Lola can be found in the 1892 French novel "Lola" by Adolphe Belot and André Gide. The novel tells the story of a young woman named Lola who becomes a courtesan in Paris. This literary work helped popularize the name, giving it a slightly risqué connotation.
In the early 20th century, the name Lola became associated with the famous American actress and dancer Lola Montez (1821-1861). Born Maria Dolores Eliza Rosanna Gilbert in Ireland, she adopted the stage name Lola Montez and became known for her scandalous affairs and provocative performances.
Another notable figure with the name Lola was the Mexican painter and printmaker Lola Alvarez Bravo (1903-1993). She was a pioneering figure in the Mexican Renaissance and is recognized for her poetic and evocative photographs that captured the essence of Mexican culture.
In literature, the name Lola is immortalized in the famous song "Whatever Lola Wants" from the 1955 musical "Damn Yankees." The song celebrates the allure and charm of a woman named Lola, further contributing to the name's association with seductive and captivating personalities.
One of the most famous Lolas in recent history is the American singer and songwriter Lola Flores (1923-1995), known as "La Faraona" (The Pharaoh). She was a celebrated performer in Spain and a cultural icon who helped popularize flamenco music and dance.
While the name Lola has its origins in Spanish and Latin American cultures, it has gained widespread popularity around the world, transcending its linguistic and cultural boundaries. Its rich history and associations with strong, captivating women have made it a beloved and enduring name choice.
Notable bearers
Famous people named Lola
People
Lola + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Lola as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with L
Other first names starting with L with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Lola: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Lola?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 41,873 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Lola going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 8,186 US residents.
Is Lola a common name?
We classify Lola as "Uncommon". It ranks above 99% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 96,020 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Lola most popular?
The single biggest year for Lola was 1919, when 1,623 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Lola is about 32 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Lola a female name?
Yes, 99.7% of people registered as Lola in the SSA data are female. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.