Veola
A feminine name of uncertain origin, possibly a portmanteau of Viola and Leola.
Name Census estimates that about 350 living Americans carry the first name Veola. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Veola today is around 77 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Veola births was 1926 (64 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Veola. 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
- • The typical person named Veola is about 77 years old today, placing it firmly among the names of earlier generations. Most living Veolas were born before 1959.
People living today
350
~ 1 in 979,298 Americans
Peak year
1926
64 babies that year
Average age
77
years old
2000 SSA rank
#17,521
Tracked since 1892
Census
Veola in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 500 people with the first name Veola, which placed it at #20,593 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#20,593
National first-name rank
People counted
500
500 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
81.0% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Veola
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Veola is Black at 81.0%. The next largest groups are White (12.4%) and Two or More Races (3.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Veola described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Veola at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American81.0% · 405
- White12.4% · 62
- Two or more races3.6% · 18
- Hispanic or Latino1.6% · 8
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.8% · 4
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.6% · 3
Popularity
Veola: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Veola from the 1890s through to the 2000s, spanning 10 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1920s, with 490 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1920s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Veola 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 Veola during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Veolas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 9 states and territories. Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi recorded the most babies named Veola, while Oklahoma, South Carolina, Georgia recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 69 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Veola
The name Veola is believed to have originated from the Latin language. It is thought to be derived from the word "viola," which means "violet" in English. This connection suggests that the name may have been initially used to describe someone with violet-colored eyes or as a reference to the beautiful violet flower.
The earliest recorded use of the name Veola dates back to the late 18th century in parts of Europe, particularly in regions with strong Latin influences. It is possible that the name was initially used as a feminine form of the Italian name Viola or as a variation of the French name Violette.
One of the earliest known individuals with the name Veola was Veola Schmitz, a German actress born in 1880. She had a successful career in theater and appeared in several silent films during the early 20th century.
In the 19th century, Veola Harmon was a notable American educator and activist. Born in 1844, she dedicated her life to establishing schools for African American children in the South during the Reconstruction era.
Another historical figure with the name Veola was Veola Neitz, an American writer and journalist born in 1898. She gained recognition for her work as a columnist and her contributions to several local newspapers in the Midwest.
In the early 20th century, Veola Valli was an Italian-American opera singer born in 1904. She performed with several prestigious opera companies and was acclaimed for her powerful soprano voice.
Veola DiFrancesco, born in 1925, was a notable Italian-American artist and sculptor. Her works were exhibited in various galleries and museums across the United States, showcasing her talent in capturing human forms and emotions through her sculptures.
While the name Veola may not be as common today as it once was, it holds a rich history rooted in the Latin language and has been carried by diverse individuals who have made significant contributions in various fields throughout the centuries.
People
Veola + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Veola as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with V
Other first names starting with V with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Veola: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Veola?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 350 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Veola 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 979,298 US residents.
Is Veola a common name?
We classify Veola as "Very Rare". It ranks above 80.9% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,843 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Veola most popular?
The single biggest year for Veola was 1926, when 64 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Veola is about 77 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Veola in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 500 people with the name Veola, or 0.17 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #20,593 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Veola in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Veola?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Veola appears almost entirely female. Of the 490 people counted with this name, 99.8% were female and only a very small share were male. The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Veola?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Veola is Black at 81.0%. The next largest groups are White (12.4%) and Two or More Races (3.6%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Veola most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Veola in the 2020 Census, accounting for 81.0% (405 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Veola in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Veola a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Veola 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.
Is Veola still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Veola in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Veola can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
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.
How many people are called Veola?
You can see how many Americans are named Veola on our sister site HowManyOfMe.org — same data roots, lighter UI.