Yoland
A feminine French name derived from the Germanic name "Violante", meaning "violet flower".
Name Census estimates that about 218 living Americans carry the first name Yoland. The name is used almost exclusively for girls. The average person named Yoland today is around 55 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Yoland births was 1971 (20 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Yoland. 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.
People living today
218
~ 1 in 1,572,268 Americans
Peak year
1971
20 babies that year
Average age
55
years old
1988 SSA rank
#13,865
Tracked since 1926
Popularity
Yoland: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Yoland from the 1920s through to the 1980s, spanning 6 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1970s, with 111 total registrations. Although the numbers have come down from the 1970s peak, Yoland remains solidly in use and shows no sign of disappearing from maternity wards.
Babies born per year
Decades
Yoland 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 Yoland during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Yolands live
Origin
Meaning and history of Yoland
The name Yoland has its origins in the Germanic languages, deriving from the Old German words "geu" meaning "region" and "land" meaning "land." Taken together, the name can be interpreted as "from a famous region." It is believed to have emerged sometime during the 5th or 6th century AD, at the height of the Germanic tribes' migrations across Europe.
One of the earliest recorded instances of the name Yoland can be found in the Carolingian chronicles, where it appears as the name of a Frankish noblewoman who lived during the 8th century AD. This Yoland was a member of the court of Charlemagne, the famous Frankish king and Holy Roman Emperor.
In the 11th century, a Yoland of Burgundy was the wife of King Baldwin IV of Jerusalem during the Crusades. She played a significant role in the politics of the Kingdom of Jerusalem and is mentioned in several contemporary accounts of the period.
A notable bearer of the name was Yoland of Aragon, who lived from 1384 to 1442. She was a Duchess of Anjou and Queen consort of Aragon through her marriage to King Louis II of Naples. Yoland was known for her patronage of the arts and her support for the humanist movement during the Renaissance.
In the 16th century, a Yoland of Savoy (1508-1568) became the first wife of King Francis I of France. As the Queen consort, she was instrumental in promoting the French Renaissance and was known for her intelligence and political acumen.
Another famous Yoland was Yoland Howard, Countess of Peterborough (1622-1690), an English noblewoman and supporter of the Protestant cause during the English Civil War. She was a prominent figure in the court of King Charles II and was known for her beauty and wit.
Throughout history, the name Yoland has maintained a strong association with nobility, power, and cultural patronage. While its usage has waned in recent centuries, it remains a name with a rich historical legacy, particularly in Europe.
People
Yoland + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Yoland as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with Y
Other first names starting with Y with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Yoland: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Yoland?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 218 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Yoland 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 1,572,268 US residents.
Is Yoland a common name?
We classify Yoland as "Very Rare". It ranks above 75.3% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 260 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Yoland most popular?
The single biggest year for Yoland was 1971, when 20 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Yoland is about 55 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
Is Yoland a female name?
Yes, 100.0% of people registered as Yoland 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.