Violett
A feminine name of French origin meaning "purple flower".
Name Census estimates that about 861 living Americans carry the first name Violett. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Violett today is around 8 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Violett births was 2023 (97 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Violett. 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.
For a British comparison, Name Census UK has a UK baby-name profile for Violett with official rankings and popularity over time.
People living today
861
~ 1 in 398,089 Americans
Peak year
2023
97 babies that year
Average age
8
years old
2024 SSA rank
#2,208
Tracked since 1899
Census
Violett in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 469 people with the first name Violett, which placed it at #21,580 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
#21,580
National first-name rank
People counted
469
469 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.2
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
White
50.5% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Violett
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Violett is White at 50.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (34.5%) and Black (7.9%). 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 Violett 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 Violett at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- White50.5% · 237
- Hispanic or Latino34.5% · 162
- Black or African American7.9% · 37
- Two or more races4.7% · 22
- Asian and Pacific Islander1.9% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.4% · 2
Popularity
Violett: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Violett from the 1890s through to the 2020s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 2010s, with 430 total registrations. The name continues to be given at rates close to its all-time high, suggesting it has not yet fallen out of fashion.
Babies born per year
Decades
Violett 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 Violett during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Violetts live
The SSA's state-level files cover 8 states and territories. California, Texas, New York recorded the most babies named Violett, while Pennsylvania, North Carolina, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 36 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Violett
The name Violett is derived from the Latin word "viola", which means the violet flower. Its origins can be traced back to Ancient Rome, where the violet was a symbol of fertility, love, and modesty. The name gained popularity during the Middle Ages, particularly in France and Italy, where it was associated with the Virgin Mary and the color purple, which symbolized royalty and spirituality.
The earliest recorded examples of the name Violett can be found in medieval French records, where it was spelled "Violette" or "Vyolette". One of the earliest known bearers of this name was Violette de Bar, a 13th-century French noblewoman who was known for her beauty and virtue.
In the 15th century, the name Violett appeared in literature, such as in the works of the Italian poet Dante Alighieri, who used the name to symbolize humility and purity. In his famous work, "The Divine Comedy", he portrayed Violett as a symbol of virtue and innocence.
During the Renaissance, the name Violett became popular among the aristocracy and was borne by several notable figures. One of the most famous was Violette de Lusignan, a 16th-century French noblewoman who was known for her beauty and intelligence. She served as a lady-in-waiting to Queen Catherine de' Medici and was a prominent figure at the French court.
Another notable bearer of the name was Violette Leduc, a 20th-century French writer and feminist. Born in 1907, she was known for her controversial and groundbreaking works that explored themes of gender, sexuality, and social inequality. Her most famous novel, "La Bâtarde" (The Bastard), was a semi-autobiographical account of her life as a illegitimate child and her struggles with identity and societal expectations.
In the world of art, Violette Nozzière was a 19th-century French painter and engraver who was known for her portraits and landscapes. Born in 1832, she was one of the few female artists of her time to achieve recognition and success in the male-dominated art world.
The name Violett has also been borne by several notable women in the field of science and technology. One such figure was Violette Szabo, a World War II British Special Operations Executive agent who was posthumously awarded the George Cross for her bravery and service. Born in 1921, she was captured and executed by the Nazis in 1945.
Overall, the name Violett has a rich and diverse history, spanning centuries and cultures. Its association with the violet flower and its symbolism of modesty, love, and purity have made it a popular choice for parents throughout the ages.
People
Violett + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Violett 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
Violett: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Violett?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 861 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Violett 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 398,089 US residents.
Is Violett a common name?
We classify Violett as "Very Rare". It ranks above 89.1% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 909 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Violett most popular?
The single biggest year for Violett was 2023, when 97 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Violett is about 8 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Violett in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 469 people with the name Violett, or 0.16 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #21,580 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 Violett 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 Violett?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Violett appears almost entirely female. Of the 468 people counted with this name, 99.6% 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 Violett?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Violett is White at 50.5%. The next largest groups are Hispanic (34.5%) and Black (7.9%). 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 Violett most often in the Census?
White is the largest reported group for people named Violett in the 2020 Census, accounting for 50.5% (237 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 Violett in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Violett a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Violett 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 Violett still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Violett 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 Violett 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 have Violett as a first name?
If you just want to know how many people have the name Violett, HowManyOfMe.org gives you the headline number in one glance.