Viola
Small purple flower symbolizing modesty, humility and faithfulness.
Name Census estimates that about 18,715 living Americans carry the first name Viola. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Viola today is around 62 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Viola births was 1918 (4,342 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Viola. 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 Viola is used almost entirely for girls, the SSA data does show 434 boys registered with the name since 1880.
- • Compared to the 1920s, recent registration numbers for Viola have dropped to less than 5% of what they once were.
People living today
19K
~ 1 in 18,314 Americans
Peak year
1918
4,342 babies that year
Average age
62
years old
1948 SSA rank
#1,190
Tracked since 1880
Gender
Gender distribution for Viola
Out of the 133,175 babies given the name Viola 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.
Viola as a male name
- Ranked #3,653 in 1948
- 6 male births in 1948
- Peak: 1931 (20 births)
Viola as a female name
- Ranked #1,190 in 2024
- 199 female births in 2024
- Peak: 1918 (4,331 births)
Popularity
Viola: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Viola 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 33,396 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
Viola 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 Viola during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Violas live
The SSA's state-level files cover 49 states and territories. New York, Pennsylvania, Texas recorded the most babies named Viola, while Hawaii, Wyoming, Delaware recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 2,017 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Viola
The name Viola is derived from the Latin word viola, meaning violet. It is a feminine form of the name Vio, which is believed to have originated from the Roman family name Violius. The name is thought to have been given to children with violet-colored eyes or born during the spring when violets bloom.
In ancient Roman times, the violet flower was associated with fertility, love, and modesty. It was believed to have aphrodisiac properties and was often used in love potions and rituals. The name Viola may have been used to honor the goddess Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty, who was often depicted with violets.
The earliest recorded use of the name Viola dates back to the 13th century. One of the earliest known bearers of the name was Viola de Lacy, an English noblewoman who lived in the late 12th and early 13th centuries. She was the daughter of Walter de Lacy, Lord of Meath, and inherited a significant amount of land and wealth from her father.
Another notable Viola in history was Viola Liuzzo, an American civil rights activist who was murdered in 1965 while participating in the Selma to Montgomery marches in Alabama. She was born in 1925 and her tragic death brought national attention to the civil rights movement and the violence faced by activists.
In the 16th century, Viola Bardane was an Italian painter and poet known for her portraits and religious works. She was born in Naples in 1557 and her paintings can be found in various churches and museums throughout Italy.
Viola Pettit was an American actress and dancer who was a member of the Ziegfeld Follies in the early 20th century. She was born in 1888 and appeared in several Broadway productions and silent films during her career.
Viola Desmond was a Canadian businesswoman and civil rights activist who challenged racial segregation in Nova Scotia in the 1940s. She was born in 1914 and her act of resistance sparked a movement against segregation in Canada. She was posthumously pardoned and has been featured on the Canadian $10 banknote since 2018.
People
Viola + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Viola 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
Viola: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Viola?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 18,715 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Viola 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 18,314 US residents.
Is Viola a common name?
We classify Viola as "Uncommon". It ranks above 98.4% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 133,175 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Viola most popular?
The single biggest year for Viola was 1918, when 4,342 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Viola is about 62 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Viola a female name?
Yes, 99.7% of people registered as Viola 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.